#live footage of Graham's last moments

[tsarjozinzbazin]

guys I am sane

[denimbex1986]

'The British director on the power of crying and how he crafted his heartbreaking new film, All of Us Strangers.

Andrew Haigh is a veteran of film and television, having directed projects including Weekend, 45 Years, Looking and The North Water. His work is defined by an expert eye for detail and profound sensitivity – in All of Us Strangers, he excavates familial and queer trauma to create a powerful, tender, ghostly romance, starring Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Claire Foy and Jamie Bell.

LWLies: Every person I’ve spoken to about All of Us Strangers has had quite an intense emotional reaction to it. How aware of that potential are you when you’re making a film?

Haigh: It’s funny, because I used to get emotional writing the script, and then making a film, there are moments when you feel the emotion that’s coming back at you. I’m a pretty emotional person, I’m constantly crying. But then when I watched the assembly that Jonathan [Alberts, editor] had done, I was a wreck. And I know that he’d been a wreck editing it.

The more you work on a film, for months and months, you aren’t sure. You wonder if you’ve got rid of the emotion within the piece, if you’ve ruined it. When the film was finished, I hoped that people would have a reaction to it, and that it would feel like a genuine emotional reaction rather than a manipulative one.

I wanted to unpick the pain that we all carry around, in the hope that at the end, there is some catharsis. I find crying so cathartic. Every time I cry my eyes I feel so much better. I remember when Jonathan was cutting the dailies, and it was just one of the scenes about halfway through, of Harry and Adam in bed talking. I came in and Jonathan was just in floods. I said, “What’s the matter?!” It wasn’t a big emotional scene but he was a wreck.

I think that’s representative of how grief works, too. Sometimes it’s the small things that set you off, and it’s not always the things that make sense. 

It’s always the little things, and it’s the same whether it’s grief or anything in your past. I think grief is not always just about someone you’ve lost, it’s about things that you’ve lost. It’s time that you’ve lost, it’s relationships that you’ve lost, it’s love affairs that you’ve lost. Our whole lives are essentially dealing with time moving on and us losing things. I wanted the film to be about that – so the mother is just as upset that she has lost the time with her son because those things are so fragile. I’m a pretty melancholic person, and so I often think about all of those little moments in life that have been so important and are now just distant memories. They are essentially ghosts.

It’s strange, I’m currently going through a lot of video footage from when I was a kid, so I’m having a very similar experience. It brings up so many strange emotions, excavating the past. Thinking about the people that aren’t in your life now.

Yeah – and the emotion that you have for someone once they are gone, whether that’s because they’ve died or they’re just not in your life..that emotion is still there. It’s strange how that works. Fear doesn’t last the same way. No other emotion does. But love is always there. Somehow it’s both a little bit cheesy and kind of magical at the same time. Love is the thing that remains.

Were you familiar with Taichi Yamada’s novel Strangers before you were approached about the project?

No, I hadn’t heard of it – Graham [Broadbent] and Sarah [Harvey], the producers, sent it to me. They knew me, and they asked what I was interested in doing, so I said “I’m kind of interested in doing some kind of ghost story.’ Even though this isn’t that exactly. But they sent me this very traditional ghost story, and the thing that I loved was this idea in the novel of meeting your parents again. I thought that was a fascinating way to start looking into love, grief, parental responsibility, all of those things. I very quickly knew I wanted to make the love affair between two men, and I didn’t want the ghosts in the story to be malevolent, in the way they sort of are in the book.

I felt like, Oh God, I can finally talk about queerness and family in a way that I think is very complicated, and do it within a way that these two things can be interconnected and wound up together. I feel like that is a thing about being queer. It is complicated within a family dynamic. It’s getting better every day, although not for everyone. But it was certainly so complicated for me, growing up.

I’m interested to know how much you thought about the connection between All of Us Strangers and your previous work, particularly 45 Years and Weekend, because there are overlapping themes. 

Yeah, and I don’t mind it being sort of repeating, because I think my interests are always my interests. So the things I’m trying to articulate, I’m often going back on myself to try and find new ways to express something I’ve looked at before. I quite like that idea. But my biggest concern, actually, in the beginning, was that people were going to think this film is just Weekend with Ghosts. But even though I don’t think the film is that, everything that you do is always in relationship to what you’ve done before. For me anyway. It’s like picking up a conversation, there’s something that you’ve already sort of talked about, but you realise you want to talk about a little bit more, and in a slightly different way.

You’ve talked a little bit about bringing your own personal experience into the film. How do you find that process of weaving your own personal experience into an adaptation?

Yes, I felt like I had to. For some reason, I felt like I didn’t want to make the film unless it was personal. There was stuff I wanted to talk about in terms of queerness and how I feel about family and its complications, what it can mean to be a child and a parent. I wrote a lot during the pandemic – I kind of threw myself into trying to make it feel as close to something I understood as possible while making sure it wasn’t autobiographical. So there’s lots of me in it, but there’s also lots of me that isn’t in it. When I gave the script to people, they’d said “I feel like you’ve written this about me. I feel like you’ve told my life story.” Whether it’s about the loss of parents or the separation from family, or whether it’s about queerness…they’re taking something from it. And that was always what I hoped that it would feel like. It’s personal to me, but I want it to feel personal to everyone.

You have such a wonderfully curated collection of 80s music in All of Us Strangers. Was this directly plucked from your own experience?

Oh yeah, those choices were definitely personal. I love The Pet Shop Boys, I’ve loved them from their first album onwards back in 1985, and Frankie Goes To Hollywood. If you open the vinyl now, it’s so gay! You pull out this bit of paper, and they’re wearing like leather underwear and you’re like “How did this exist in 1983?” Those songs were so important to me. But pop music in general is a way for especially repressed British people to express themselves – the old pop songs especially expressed the things that we can’t say in very blatant terms. I think weirdly my politics was forged by pop music. I listen to a Housemartins song now, and I can tell they’re a bunch of socialists, you can feel it. Everything was passionate in those days, especially in pop music.

The film begins with a sunrise and ends with a night sky which lingers, and I loved that parallel. How early did you have that ending in your head?

I think it was there from the beginning if I’m honest – but I’m also aware that the ending won’t work for everybody. For me, it’s like I needed the ending to transcend a sense of reality. When I was a kid growing up I genuinely thought that I would never be able to find love. I couldn’t even see spending my life with another man as a possibility. And I wanted in the end to make love have this almost cosmic importance. Like the idea that love is so fundamentally important and enormous. Someone said something to me that I hadn’t quite realised – stars die billions of years ago, and the light is still there millions of years later. It’s like we said before; love is this thing that can be long gone, but it’s still there. And you can find it again. And again. And again. It’s always there.'

[dollarbin]

Shakey Sundays #35:

Hitchhiker (plus A Snapshot in Time)

Six months is a century in Shakeytown.

These days Neil will summon the Stop Shopping Choir for a whistle stop tour, release 4-5 new Archive records, reroute 6 barns worth of toy trains, publish a Greenville zine or two, respond to 4,672 fan emails on his forever Beta-version website, each in 7 words or less and each response featuring the words "peace," "love" and "Al Gore", write 36 new songs, all of them with the working title Love Earth (Or Else), and publish yet another memoir, this one dedicated to his penchant for hip hop, all in a six month window.

Case in point: Archives 3 is about ten minutes old and he's already promoting a forthcoming and utterly unrelated live record from his first tour with Cranky, Silly, and Gnash. Apparently Joni was at the show, gnashing her own teeth in anguish while Graham "Honey Baked" Hash debuted Our House; by the end of the show Mitchell surely instructed Grahamcracker to retitle his song My House (Cuz Joni Just Slipped Out The Back, Jack). Nash, apparently, refused to make the change.

All of Neil's productivity is cool; it's a great time to be a Shakey fan. But these days he lives beside a Colorado lake with Daryl, her dogs, 64 of his cars and the grinning ghosts of David Briggs and Ben Keith; 48 years ago he lived utterly alone in a psychedelic tepee of his very own design.

After all, just try and get your mind around all he accomplished between August 76 and March 77:

He got high as a kite and recorded the primary subject of this week's post in a single night.

He wrote an entirely different record (this week's secondary subject) and taught it to Nicolette Larson and Linda Ronstadt in one sitting.

He recorded 1/2 of that second album with a full band, eventually releasing it as the Side A of American Stars and Bars.

He wrote the highlight of that album - Will To Love, which is arguably the single greatest song of his entire career - and then spent another single night in the studio layering up instruments for it in front of his signature crackling fire - and he has not played the track again a single time since in any setting of any kind, ever. Guess he's had too much else to do.

He released a mixed-at-best record he'd made in the previous six months with Stephen Stills and Joe Freakin' Lala.

He began a full tour with those dopes, playing a month's worth of shows before making new plans Stan and telling them in writing to eat a peach and finish up without him.

He played a full US tour with Crazy Horse instead.

He performed at The Last Waltz.

He found the time to do a lot of cocaine, which is apparently obvious in Scorsese's footage. I've never been able to see the rock in question, however. My working knowledge of Belushidust is clearly negligible.

He continued to write songs about his recent breakup with Carrie Snodgress while starting to romance both the aforementioned Larson and his future beleaguered wife, Pegi. (Plus he surely probably slept with countless other women in this period; Neil was quoted at the time as "really enjoying the bachelor life," which sounds even sleazier than the reality television show of that moniker, which, by the way, should totally feature Neil in its next Golden iteration; after all, he's already demonstrated that he is perfectly willing to ditch his current wife so as to play the field.) Okay, that was just mean. Sorry Neil!

And, right around the moment those six months were up, Young joined yet another band - The Ducks - which was entirely unrelated to all the other bands listed above, and began the process of learning 20+ of their songs.

Plus he chewed a whole lot of Bubblicous and guzzled a whole lot of Natty Light throughout it all.

Yeah, he did all that - except #12: fooled you there! Both delectable items were introduced in the following six months, during which time Young, you guessed it, recorded yet another album of unrelated songs with entirely new musicians.

So, I gotta ask: what the hell did you accomplish between the late summer of 76 and the Spring of 77? I'll bet you can't compete with me or Neil. After all, I crapped my diaper, repeatedly. My mother reports that I "looked just like a frog." I'll bet your lazy ass wasn't even born yet.

Anyway, I stand before you on this very Shakey Sunday prepared to argue that the greatest thing Neil did in that incredibly crammed six months, except for Will To Love, is Hitchiker, the done-in-a-single-altered-night acoustic record which he waited a mere 40 years to release rather than waiting the full 48 so as to include it on Archives 3.

Let's drop the needle already and talk about Hitchhiker's shimmering greatness.

First of all, the whole thing is a poetic work of art. I'm serious. Pocahontas and Powderfinger set the table: both are dreamscape anthems, chock full of heartbreak, guns and waterfowl. And Campaigner may well be Neil's lyrical high-water mark. When roads stretch out like healthy veins and wild gift horses strain the rains I kinda freak out.

Note the previously edited out second verse featured on Hitchhiker: you know a song is lyrically exceptional when a line like "traffic cops are all color blind and people steal from their own kind" submits to the editor's ax.

Plus, beauty has rarely been draped in such stark and hopeless wonder. Indeed, the only record I can think of with a tone to match Hitchhiker is Pink Moon - and what higher praise can you think of than comparing anything to Nick Drake's unadorned-by-anything-or-anyone-else Pink Moon? Neil and Nick had both had it, at least for the moment, with arranging records. So instead they just took the Plastic Ono Band approach and upped Lennon's ante by laying all the songs down in a single take, every last bit of their armor set aside so as to reveal their very souls.

Just compare Give Me Strength and Which Will. Hear two men who could not have been more fundamentally different both asking the kind of fundamental and elemental questions which males are still instructed to avoid out of false courage and idiocy.

Yeah, I know: Neil's song coulda' used one more take as he loses track of the chord structure and melody altogether for parts of the closing. But I still say my comparison is apt even if Shakey and Drake couldn't be further apart on the sobriety and perfectionist spectrums.

Hitchhiker's tone could not be more different than its newly surfaced companion, the here, let-me-show-you-how-our-record-is-gonna-sound session Neil concocted for Linda and Nicolette six months later and which Neil has titled A Snapshot In Time for Archives 3. Snapshot replaces the earlier record's stark and trembling poetics with a big dose of what Ronstadt instantly recognizes on tape as "obnoxiousness."

On the one hand you have the songs Linda was directly referring to: check out, if you can get your hands on it (Neil seems to be clutching many of the tracks from Archives 3 in his self-appointed greedy hands rather than posting them for free on the internet) Young posing as a randy, grinning and stumbling creeper in Saddle Up the Palomino.

Here's the eventual band track.

Neil's mood had clearly shifted a great deal in the intervening six months. Lines like, "it's a cold bowl of chili when life lets you down but to it's the neighbor's wife I'm after" would have had no place whatsoever on Hitchhiker. Nor would the song's attempt at an arena rock riff.

On the other hand, even Snapshot's non-boneheaded songs are a bit obnoxious. Imagine inviting Linda Ronstadt over and then asking her to sing along with lyrics like "hey babe, say your mine all mine" over and over again. She'll do it - if you're Neil Young. But don't fool yourself; she'd rather have been taught Give Me Stength.

Look: I love every moment of A Snapshot in Time, not to mention the first half of the classic record it spawned. But it sure ain't high art.

Hitchhiker though? It'd take me a solid six months just to shout all its transcendent praises.

[jcmarchi]

WWE 2K24 Celebrates 40 Years Of Wrestlemania

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/wwe-2k24-celebrates-40-years-of-wrestlemania/

WWE 2K24 Celebrates 40 Years Of Wrestlemania

With Wrestlemania 40 on the horizon, WWE 2K24 appropriately celebrates the milestone by highlighting four decades of the grandest stage of them all. The “American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes graces the cover of this year’s installment. Additionally, Bianca Belair and current Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley share the Deluxe Edition cover, making them the first women to receive a dedicated cover. 

First off, the gallery below shows off the cover art for each of the game’s three editions (read on for details on each):

This year’s documentary-style Showcase mode is dubbed Showcase…of the Immortals and lets players relive some of the most iconic moments in Wrestlemania’s history. As in previous years, the mode will seamlessly switch from gameplay to live-action footage of the match and will feature unlockable content for completing optional objectives. 

2K24 introduces four new match types: Ambulance, Special Guest Referee, Casket, and Gauntlet. Improvements have been made to existing matches; for example, Backstage Brawl now supports four players and more interactive elements. The Royal Rumble supports eight-player online play. WarGames and other popular stipulations such as Hell in a Cell, TLC, and Extreme Rules will return.

Gameplay additions include Super Finishers, a trading blows mini-game, and players can do top rope dives outside of the ring onto a group of adversaries. There are also double title matches, new Paybacks, new weapon types such as trash cans, guitars, and microphones, and you can throw weapons. 

MyRise returns with two brand-new storylines. MyGM has been expanded with more GMs, match types, championships, and a new feature called Superstar Journey, where talent can earn XP to level up by training and participating in matches. MyFaction now includes ranked online Quickplay with unique rewards and seasonal leaderboards. 

Universe mode has expanded rivalry options such as run-ins, Money in the Bank cash-ins, and new cutscenes. New stipulations include Double Title matches, Special Guest Referee, and Loser Leaves Town. The Creation Suite now lets you create referees and crowd signs in addition to new parts and animations for the existing templates, such as Superstars, entrances, arenas, and more. 

A small glimpse of the playable roster has been revealed. Additionally, several real-life referees will be included in the game for the first time (but are not playable). If previous years are an indication, expect a gradual rollout of roster reveals and ratings over the coming weeks. 

Andre the Giant

Asuka

Bianca Belair

Charlotte Flair

Cody Rhodes

John Cena

Randy Savage

Rey Mysterio

Rhea Ripley

Roman Reigns

Stone Cold Steve Austin

Triple H

Undertaker

2K24 will be available in three editions. The Standard Edition will be $69.99 on current-gen consoles and $59.99 on last gen and PC. A digital-only Standard Cross-Gen Edition, which gives you the game on both consoles in the same platform family (ex: PS5 and PS4), will be $69.99. The breakdowns of the more expensive editions are as follows:

Deluxe Edition ($99.99) 

Base Game

Standard Cross-Gen Edition

Nightmare Family Pack (Includes playable characters Stardust, “Undashing” Cody Rhodes, Dusty Rhodes ’76, “Superstar” Billy Graham)

Season Pass

MyRise Mega-Boost/SuperCharger

Gold Rarity Rhea Ripley/Bianca Belair MyFaction Cards

Alternate attires for Rhea Ripley/Bianca Belair

Forty Years of Wrestlemania Edition ($119.99)

All content in Standard/Deluxe Editions

Alternate Wrestlemania Attires for Randy Savage (WM 6), Rey Mysterio (WM 22), Triple H (WM 30), Charlotte Flair (WM 33), and Rhea Ripley (WM 36)

Gold Rarity MyFaction Cards for Randy Savage, Rey Mysterio, Triple H, Charlotte Flair, and Rhea Ripley

Instant unlocking of all playable Showcase characters

Wrestlemania 40 arena (arriving post-launch) 

The Standard Editions of WWE 2K24 launch on March 8. The Deluxe and Forty Years of Wrestlemania Editions arrive a few days earlier on March 5. It will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. 

[heroesandlovers]

Nancy Drew 2x10 "The Spell of the Burning Bride"

Iconic, classic, excellent episode of television right here. More excellent #Nace content

Nancy is meeting with the reporter- I can’t be bothered to remember her name. She’s helping her with her piece on Ryan. But she also manages to squeeze in a request for the reporter to put in a good word for her regarding her Columbia admissions.

“I like how clean your social media is” 🙄

Reporter lady swipes some of Nancy’s DNA (does she suspect the relation?- I know she earlier suspected Lucy had a baby but why would she suspect it's Nancy?)

Nancy takes on a case solving some break-in at Lily’s flower shop. She decides to go to Tamura for help. She finds out that there have actually been a series of break-ins. Nancy shows some footage of the break-in…Tamura points out the parked car with a mysterious male drive whom Nancy recognizes as ….

Gil..

Gil tells them that the suspect was wearing a wedding gown and a brocade. Nancy raided her “source for supernatural events" (a visit to Hannah?) and they did find a story where the bride was wearing a similar dress. The “dress” in this case had supernatural abilities which converted women into chaste submissive brides just prior to their wedding.

Did I fact check the graham cracker thing? Yes I did.

Nancy and Tamura sleuth together and find out that the last bride to wear the dress went crazy and murdered her husband. They now fear that whomever is wearing the dress (a living person not a ghost) may be “under the influence”. Nancy fears that person may be Hannah so they head to the Historical Society.

Meanwhile, the welder with Nick at the Historical Society strips off their overalls and is….the bride in the dress? They manage to get her out of the dress but she is still under the influence. Nancy tries to destroy the dress but..a bit of “lust butterflies" get in Nancy’s face.

AND…Lust Shenanigans ensue. Nancy lusting after Tamura, Gil, Nick, and Ace is A+ content.

And don’t forget about this ICONIC scene.

bThe writers are so clever here with their words though.

“It’s even softer than I imagined”- revealing that Nancy has 100% thought about Ace’s hair.

“You are so smart, Ace I don’t care what anybody says”- First, who has been saying otherwise. I will kill them just like Nancy will kill Annette. Second, Nancy has been attracted to Ace’s brain for awhile now (since 1x14..or maybe 1x01)

And LOOKING RIGHT AT ACE when she says “or is it intensifying feelings of attraction that I already had but was repressing”

Bess and Ace go to look for an antidote. I missed the reason they decided they could get some information from Nancy’s ancestors.

We hear the name “Temperance Hudson” for the first time.

Speaking of the writers not being subtle

“It’s OK if you want one..or two…Enter ACE.

And she goes and shares a moment with Tamura over his broken engagement and the fact that he and Nancy have so much in common with their shared passion for detective work..

And yet…Nancy goes at the end of the episode to…Gil? I wonder what she could be thinking?!!

Episode cliffhanger: Reporter lady is working with Cecila…AND tells her that Nancy is Ryan’s daughter.

George and Odette (and Bess)

So…can they control who is in control now?

George taking pictures of her car like a rental car

Bess meets Odette for the first time.Bess chaperones Odette and Ace chaperones “the date”- WHO IS WORKING AT THE CLAW?

But Ace is a little distracted from his chaperone duties because he’s texting with his LONG LOST BROTHER? He misses the sparks flying between Odette and Bess. Odette and Bess get..drunk enough that they’re taken to police station to “sleep one off”.

Aceisms

“Just Ryan-ing to help”

“The supernatural detective and the basic one….”

“She’s OK, just a little boy crazy”

[ilovesamheughan]

Herself is fun like no other! 😂

Diana Gabaldon's Foreword to Clanlands Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Stories from the Outlander Set

Here's your first look at the introduction to Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish's new book.

BY DIANA GABALDON

NOV 3, 2020

outlander season 2 2016ED MILLER / STARZ

Well, in The Beginning . . . there was a man in a kilt.

I’ve always figured that if there’s something you want to do, you should start doing it, and if it’s the right thing, the universe kind of comes out to meet you. So, I started writing a novel about a man in a kilt, and the universe brought me a television show.

I’ve been indirectly responsible for a lot of strange things since I wrote Outlander – from:

. . . five seasons (so far) of a hit TV series

. . . the names of dozens of purebred dogs, racehorses and housing developments

. . . thousands of babies named Brianna or Jamie (no one has ever, to my knowledge, named a child ‘Murtagh’, which is puzzling . . .)

. . . Lord John Grey’s Tea

. . . symphonic band compositions

. . . a musical

. . . a Scottish woolen mill specialising in tartan

. . . a marvelous pair of cookbooks

. . . three million knitted cowls

. . . dozens of female fans who lower their trousers at book signings to show me ‘Da mi basia mille’ tattooed on their tailbones (as my husband remarked to me, ‘Well, how many people can say,“Kiss my ass” in classical Latin?’)

. . . a 72% increase in Scottish tourism (as Visit Scotland was kind enough to tell me), and

. . . an excellent whisky called ‘Sassenach’

But this book may be one of the strangest, and definitely one of the best!

I’m deeply honoured that Sam and Graham have asked me to write the foreword to one of the most interesting, unusual (to put it mildly . . .) and hilarious books I’ve read in a long time. I’m not quite sure what you’d call it, but then I’m used to not being able to describe my own books in twenty-five words or less, so this is probably not a problem.

To start with, it’s a buddy book. Two good friends banter (and bicker) their way across the Scottish Highlands, risking life and limb in that casual way that makes men attractive. Why? Well, because they’re both Scottish and they have both been a large part of Outlander (not just the television show, but the whole weird phenomenon), have realised that they are Scottish (wearing a kilt every day for two years will do that to you), and want to find out where their heritage came from and what being Scottish actually means (aside from being born liking whisky)

It’s also a road book. (Think Jack Kerouac, but with fewer drugs, more paragraphs and no sex. Well, almost no sex . . .).

Our two friends are in fact making a television series about several historical locations in the Highlands. Accompanied by a small film crew – including a talented makeup artist and a drone operator – they visit spectacular historical locations in the Scottish Highlands to learn the true history of some of the best-known massacres, fights, betrayals, beheadings, and other typically Scottish recreational activities. This is the story of that journey, accomplished via an aged Fiat camper van, tandem bike, kayak and any number of other improbable modes of transport that only make sense to people suffering from testosterone poisoning.

And on their way, they talk. Not only to each other, but to themselves. In some of its phases, the book is a twin memoir. Each man recalls his life as an actor – in bits – because every actor (like every writer) pretty much makes it up as they go along. Which means a lot of the stories are of the kind that are only funny to the protagonists with twenty years’ perspective, but are endlessly entertaining to the spectators.

These reminiscences include a good many stories from the Outlander set, as well. I’m only on set myself intermittently, but I do recall the day in Season Two when Sam’s horse – which he was preparing to mount – decided to take its mother’s advice and relieve itself before setting out (there’s reason why most costumes are made in multiples). And another occasion during Season Two wherein Graham was required to ride a mechanical horse (as the director said to me, ‘It looks like shit, but you won’t be able to actually see it on film’)

The mechanical horse was carried on the back of a truck, followed by another truck with a camera, and Graham was supposed to leap into the mechanical horse’s saddle while moving (supposedly jump-ing from another horse). This being television, they filmed the scene many, many times to ensure enough footage to get the effect they were after. When they finally stopped, Graham staggered downhill from the road where they’d been doing this, pausing by me and Anne Kenney (brilliant writer of the other episode in that block of filming) to say, ‘I’ve just been having a conversation with my balls. They said, “We’d really rather you didn’t do that again”’. And staggered on, muttering, ‘I knew I should have worn a cup this morning . . .’.

And finally, there’s the actual history of the ‘clan lands’, woven through this tale of a journey. The travelers reach the most interesting/famous/relevant Highland locations, where they do learn what their history and heritage are, assisted by some of the most colorful inhabitants of those places.

So, you’re actually getting four books in one! (A real bargain . . .).

But the most important part of this book is the friendship between its authors, that colours and illuminates every page.

I was both intrigued and immensely entertained by the story, but also touched on a personal level. One of the most unexpected aspects of the whole ‘Outlander phenomenon’ is the amazing way in which it seems to draw people together. People read the books and watch the show – and they want to talk about it. So, they form fan groups and book clubs and Facebook forums, and deep, lasting friendships, all because of a shared love of a story.

I will always recall one woman who brought me a book at a signing, who told me that she lived alone, had been alone for many years, seldom got out and had no family – but that she’d become attracted to the story, found others who felt likewise, and who invited her to go with them to book-signings, premieres and conventions. ‘Now I have friends!’, she said. She cried, and so did I.

I hope you’ll feel that sense of friendship in these pages.

A final word, since this book is all about returning to one’s roots: Some years ago, one of my novels won the Corine International Prize for Fiction, and I was invited to go to Germany to accept the award. This was rather a Big Deal for the German publisher, and they took advantage of my presence to have me interviewed by the entire German press corps; newspapers, magazines, radio, television, literary journals, you name it. By the end of the week I was sleep deprived and a bit glazed over when I met a nice gentleman from one of the literary journals.

Delightful man, he went on at great (and flattering) length about the books. He loved my narrative drive, my characters were tremendous, my imagery transcendent!

So I’m sitting there in a pleasant daze, thinking, ‘Yes, yes, go on . . .’, when he suddenly said, ‘There is just one thing I wonder: can you explain to me, what is the appeal of a man in a kilt?’.

Well, had I been totally conscious, I might not have said it (then again . . .). Anyway, I looked at him for a moment and said, ‘Well . . .I suppose it’s the idea that you could be up against a wall with him in a moment.’

<ahem>

A few weeks later, home again in Arizona, I get a packet of interview clippings from the German publisher, and on the top is the interview from that journal. The publisher had attached a Post-it note, saying, ‘I don’t know what you said to this man, but I think he is in love with you!’.

A man in a kilt. A very powerful and compelling image, yes . . . And now you have two of them . . .

Pour yourself a good dram, open the covers and enjoy yourself!

Slàinte mhath!

Diana Gabaldon

Scottsdale, Arizona

August, 2020

[iggy-of-fans]

Of Being a Ladybug 1.5

Happy Holiday’s! Here is my gift to you!

Previous  Masterlist 

The class, Then 

Monday of the attack

Adrien smiled, satisfied that Marinette hadn’t done anything. He shook his head, ‘really, what could she have done?’ he asked himself. Marinette was a great girl and had designed for or worked with a few famous people, but he doubted that they even remembered a lowly baker’s daughter. He sure didn’t remember most of his fans. He shrugged. Alya really should have just fact checked. Probably an over-zealous fan that sent it to one of the actors mentioned. Marinette also wouldn’t do anything that could hurt Alya. He got to the class and stopped short at the door. There were a lot of long faces in there.

Alya was sobbing into Nino’s shoulder.

Rose was quietly heaving into Juleka’s shoulder as well. Not so much sobbing, but still very upset.

Max sat tense, glaring at his phone, looking like he might set it on fire.

Kim glared ahead at the bored.

Mylene, for once, looked stronger than all the class and like she might punch somebody.

Adrien was confused. As far as he knew or remembered, only Alya had a real reason to be this upset. He frowned.

“Nino? What’s going on? Why is everyone so upset?” Adrien asked, completely lacking the social understanding to perhaps ask someone else. Who wasn’t holding their+

3 crying girlfriend. Nino just glared at him.

It was Alix who answered, “Seriously Adrien? Read the fucking mood. And to answer your question, Lila Fucking Rossi.”

“I don’t understand. What did Lila do?” Adrien asked, passing over the first comment. He just wanted answers.

“Marinette was right. Like always, she was right. Lila is a liar, and a bad liar at that. We were idiots and all fell for it. Rose lost her friendship with Prince Ali because she bought Lila’s tales. Alya is being sued for slander. Mylene and Ivan contributed to her “go green” projects, only for none of them to be legit. Max is being investigated by the school for letting Kim cheat off him and Kim got kicked off the team for it. Then the school NERD club got wind of the napkin incident and apparently even Superman and Wonder Woman can’t throw a napkin hard enough to take out somebody’s eye. And me? I was told I would be meeting pro skater Esmee Visser. We should have listened to Marinette” Alix shook her head. Mari had warned them. Warned them not to cheat, not to listen to Lila, to work their own way up. Marinette always worked so hard but made it all look so easy.

The whole class bowed their heads. Mylene had ended her friendship with Marinette on Tuesday the week before, because Marinette had suggested that she and Ivan not give their combined 400 Euros to Lila’s charity. This morning, Mylene had seen the news coverage of over fifteen people suing Lila Rossi and by extension, Alya Cesaire, for slander, defamation and theft. Lila had been going around getting things put onto tabs for famous people to pay off, claiming she was a niece, goddaughter or assistant.

They waited for Marinette or Lila to come into the class. Marinette so they could apologize. Lila so they could beat her up. When the warning bell rang, and Ms. Bustier entered the room, nobody even batted an eye. When the last bell rang, and Marinette still wasn’t there, they worried. When the sound of a car being tossed through a building reached their ears, the students evacuated.

Alya rushed to the scene. The Ladyblog may be shut down, but she could start fresh. Maybe Ladybug would even call on Rena Rouge! When she got to the scene, Vipereon was hidden on a building with… was that… a new fox? Alya almost started crying again. Another hero made her way there. A new bee, it looked like. And another, a new turtle too. When Ladybug arrived with the dragon, the team huddled for a minute before breaking apart to fight. Alya snuck closer as she watched Guilty Conscience coming at the heroes.

“I never wanted to be a hero. I feel horrible when I have to lie to protect my identity because I hate liars. I wish I had never met the Master or been picked to be Ladybug or had managed to give the Miraculous away before I got too serious. I hate what this has turned me into, I wish I could go back to just being Marinette…”

Alya gasped. Oh! OH! She shut off her video and turned. She’d wanted to earn back her title as a journalist. But not like this. She ran back to her apartment. Not like this.

As Tuesday morning dawned, the class was sitting together again. Adrien kept looking at the door expectantly. If Chat Noir payed a visit to the bakery last night, no body would know. Namely because nobody was there. Adrien’s foot bounced. The minute she walked through the door; he would confess to her.

Nino looked sideways at Adrien. He knew his boy was a bit starstruck with Ladybug. Did he really expect her to come to school, though? Nobody seemed to notice that Juleka was also missing.

Class started, only to be interrupted again when the principle announced all classes should turn on their TVs to the news.

“Good Morning Paris. We interrupt your scheduled programming to bring you breaking news,” on the screen was Lois Lane, world renowned reporter. “This morning, the Mayor of Paris was able to welcome for the first time, Justice League Members Batman and Wonder Woman, to Paris. Already, the world’s greatest detective is solving the matter of ‘who is Hawkmoth?’ and ‘where is he hiding?’. The investigation was started early this morning and is still ongoing now, however, the heroes are confident the matter will be resolved by end of day today. League intervention is also being given to the local Parisian heroes, who are being folded into the League system. The now dubbed Miracle Team will be receiving regular training and adult supervision from the American Heroes. On other news… One moment please. We are now going live to the traffic copter, which has caught sight of Wonder Woman storming a mansion in the heart of Paris. Jean, what can you tell us about the current situation?”

“Thank you, Lois! I am here, on scene as Wonder Woman storms the Agreste Mansion. Parisian’s will remember that Monsier Agreste was Akumatized as the Collector a few months ago. He certainly isn’t putting up any fight, it looks like. And there is Nathalie Sancour. Both are coming out with their hands up. It looks like Monsiour Agreste is doing all the talking. Ms. Sancour is going down in what appears to be a coughing fit! Police is also arriving on the scene. An arrest has been made. I repeat. An arrest has been made! A police car is pulling off, and looks to be heading to Francois-Dupont, commonly dubbed the Akuma school. If I am not mistaken, it is the same school that Gabriel Agreste’s only son, Adrien Agreste attends! AH, one moment. It looks like Wonder Woman is going into the mansion. Paramedics are also pulling up on scene. Ms. Sancour is being taken into an ambulance, but the other set of paramedics is running into the mansion as well. Is that?! It is! Lois, and watchers, for those of you who do not know, this is Emilie Agreste, the wife of Gabriel and mother of Adrien. She went missing and was declared dead three years ago. Paramedics are now rushing her prone body to the ambulance…”

The news continued, but the class was distracted by the door being thrust open. Officer Raincomprix and his partner entered.

“Adrien Agreste, you are under arrest for suspicion on working with Hawkmoth. You have the right to remain silent. Everything you say can and will be used against you” the officer stated, placing the cuffs on a stunned Adrien Agreste. His mouth hung open. What…? And then he heard the whispers.

“He was supposed to start school the day of the first Akuma…”

“Always defending the bully…”

“Never there during attacks…”

He shook his head mutely. NO! He was a hero!

The class watched mutely. Two in two days.

*!!*

Because he was a minor and could prove, behind closed doors, that he was in fact Chat Noir, Adrien was acquitted and sent to live with his Aunt Amilie and Cousin Felix Graham de Vanily. He took off the Miraculous ring. Plagg had told him Ladybug would need her cat. So, he put the ring in the mail to be sent off to Wilhelm with a letter explaining everything. He heard through the news that the Dupain-Cheng family had left Paris in a rush. Nobody was quite sure where they went, though most guessed to China. When he landed in London, Adrien had no idea what to expect. He hadn’t seen Felix since his mother’s funeral. He had also heard that Felix’s father had died not long ago. Felix and Amilie greeted him at the airport with smiles. He smiled and dared to hope.

*!!*

Alya watched the footage of Marinette revealing herself again. She sighed. Adrien Agreste was publicly deemed innocent and sent away. Lila Rossi, while facing several lawsuits, was only being sent to a remedial school at the outskirts of Paris. Lila’s mother, who had been akumatized as Guilty Conscience, almost lost her job. As it was now, diplomatic immunity was the only thing keeping her from being investigated further for child neglect. Alya was still facing the law herself, but being a minor, she was only facing some fines and heavy warnings, but otherwise she was also grounded until she was eighteen. Her parents were disappointed, her sisters avoided her most of the time. School had become her only escape. But even there was no escape from everything that had happened. Marinette was no longer there, and Ms. Bustier was under investigation for the amount of Akumatizations in her class. Mr. Damoclese was as well, for mismanaged funding to the school. Turns out his Owl suit and “weapons” were being funded from donations to the school. The class was split up into different classes too. Divide and conquer. Alya sighed. They weren’t really allowed to interact with each other, for fear of it causing more trouble. But most of the other students didn’t want to interact with them either. Alya had never noticed it, but their class was isolated by the rest of the school.

*!!*

Luka sighed as he watched Marinette walk into the Zeta Tube, her head bowed. Paris had ruined Marinette. He brushed his hair back and looked at Juleka. The news had confirmed that Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth, but he had given his Miraculous to Nathalie to get rid of. They were pawned off to another party, but Gabriel had no idea who, and Nathalie went under and into a coma like Mrs. Agreste.

The League told them that they would be receiving training and supervision, as there were Miraculous everywhere now. They would be needed to step in. Luka being the oldest was made the leader, despite not having the ladybug miraculous. He sighed. What a shit show.

< ( ^ ^ ) >

Bruce closed the journal and replaced it in the secret compartment in the desk. He turned to the bed behind him, where his newest ward was fast asleep, tear tracks staining her young face. He wanted to rage at Diana and Clark. He’d petitioned to have Marinette live with him from the beginning, but had been denied because Diana’s mother had been a Ladybug. Reading about what Diana had done to the poor girl, all with good intentions but completely misguided, Bruce was ready to wage war. Marinette had been through emotional hell. He would make sure to do better by her. He swore then that he would give her a family.

[yeonchi]

Doctor Who 2021 New Year’s Special Review: Revolution of the Daleks

Air date: 1 January 2021

New Year’s Day is the new Christmas Day for Doctor Who. Two years ago, I was writing the review for the 2019 New Year’s Special, Resolution. One year ago, I was writing the review for the first episode of Series 12, Spyfall Part One (which essentially served as the 2020 New Year’s Special). Today, I'm writing this review for the 2021 New Year’s Special. Whether the change was because of political correctness, low ratings or just to change up the status quo, I think we should be glad that we even have a festive special, unlike the English dubs on Koei Tecmo’s Warriors games.

Amazingly, this special was filmed alongside Series 12 last year and kept on hold to today, meaning that production was largely unaffected by the coronavirus. Even with the anticipation and uncertainty for Series 13, which has already been reduced to eight episodes (with festive special status unknown), this episode serves as a good icebreaker given everything that’s happened in 2020 and the Timeless Child arc of Series 12.

Here is my spoiler-free thought for this episode: “It’s epic, heartbreaking and ridiculous at the same time.”

Spoilers continue after the break. Also, please don’t forget to check out my look at Doctor Who: Lockdown and the hiatusbreaker update for some post-Series 12 review thoughts.

Introduction

Chibnall mentioned that the recon scout Dalek from Resolution give birth to the new Dalek variant that was seen in this episode, thus making this episode a sequel to said episode. As such, this was the case.

367 minutes (about 6 hours) after the Doctor and her extended fam fought the recon scout Dalek at GCHQ, its shell was recovered. Jo Patterson, then Technology Secretary, tipped Jack Robertson (he will be referred to by his surname hereafter to differentiate him from Jack Harkness) off about it and managed to acquire it. After acquiring the plants of car firms that had abandoned Patterson and Rugazzi Technologies, Leo’s company, Robertson had defence drones developed (and 3D printed) based on the design of the Dalek’s shell.

The production of this episode was concluded by April 2020, with Chibnall stating that post-production work was continuing during the lockdown. This was before the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests, meaning that the scene showing the testing of the defence drones was likely inspired from the Hong Kong protests. We see people throwing bricks and molotov cocktails, and the Dalek is shown to be fitted with a water cannon, CS gas sprayer and a sonic deterrent. That’s about all the allusion we get - if we had any more then we would have had a serious problem.

Doctor and companions separated

At the end of The Timeless Children, the Doctor was sentenced to life imprisonment in a maximum-security prison, while Graham, Ryan and Yaz were brought back to Earth along with Ravio, Yedlarmi and Ethan. We don’t get to see those three in the episode, sadly.

Over the next ten months, Graham and Ryan had moved on with their lives while Yaz became obsessed with finding the Doctor (yeah, just forget that you have a family and a job as a policewoman lol). Graham shows Yaz some leaked footage of Robertson at the defence drone testing. They go to confront Robertson, but are turned away by his security guards.

Meanwhile, the Doctor had been in prison for decades, accompanied by a Weeping Angel, an Ood, a Sycorax, a Silent and even a Pting. Unbeknownst to her, Captain Jack Harkness had managed to get into the same prison as her, spending 19 years just to get the cell next to her, before making himself known and breaking out of the prison together. The Doctor and Jack head to Graham’s house, where they catch up and set out to find Jack Robertson.

There are a couple of one-to-one scenes that really got me thinking. When Jack and Yaz investigate traces of Dalek DNA in Osaka, they talk about their separation from the Doctor and what their time with the Doctor has changed them into. Jack tells Yaz, “Being with the Doctor, you don’t get to choose when it stops. Whether you leave her, or she leaves you.”

Let’s break that line down with information from the TARDIS Wiki page on companions. There are several ways that a companion can join the Doctor - they stow away on the TARDIS, they were “kidnapped”, or were assigned by higher powers, like UNIT, the Time Lords or the White Guardian. Just like that, there are several ways that companions leave the Doctor - they might choose to leave, the Doctor decides or is forced to leave them behind, or they die.

The interesting thing is that Jack says that they don’t get to choose when they leave. In the case of companions who decided to leave of their own will, you might think it was an easy decision for them, but in truth, there is context behind their motivation to leave. In Series 2, Mickey Smith stayed on Pete’s World to help defeat the Cybermen after that world’s counterpart of himself (Ricky) died and he became increasingly disillusioned with Rose favouring the Doctor over himself. In Series 3, Martha Jones decided to leave the Doctor after seeing her family enslaved by the Master for a year, travelling around the world to get people to think of the Doctor, and realising that her feelings for him would never be reciprocated. In the classic series, Tegan Jovanka left the Fifth Doctor after being sickened by the death and destruction she witnessed. From this, I can deduce that what Jack meant to say isn’t that the companions don’t get to choose when they leave, but that they don’t get to choose the circumstances that lead to them leaving. In some cases, that also applies to the companions who get left behind by the Doctor or killed.

The other one-to-one is between Ryan and the Doctor in the TARDIS. The Doctor apologises to Ryan for leaving him, Graham and Yaz behind for ten months and Ryan tells him that during this time his relationship with his father has improved and that he got to catch up with friends. Ryan asks the Doctor what has changed with her since they last met and the Doctor tells her that she isn’t who she thought she was (that storyline’s never going to go away, isn’t it? Hope to learn about the full story of the Timeless Child in Series 13). This scene really highlights how the companions can be a source of support for the Doctor, just as the Doctor is a source of support for them.

Ryan tells the Doctor that she is the same as she has always been. The Doctor comforts herself by saying that nothing’s changed, but Ryan says that it wasn’t what he meant; things change all the time and we might be scared of the new, but in the end, we have to confront the new, or the old. This bit was definitely made with the Timeless Child twist in mind. Yes, things change (particularly when it comes to Doctor Who), but some changes can be good or bad; just as there are people who saw the Timeless Child twist as good, there are people who saw it as bad (including myself). It’s like what I said in the hiatusbreaker update about The Timeless Children pulling an Ultraman Orb and trying to lessen the impact of the twist when it didn’t make sense and caused more damage than expected.

Human-created Daleks (sort of)

When the recon Dalek’s shell was salvaged, some traces of its DNA remained in it. Since, according to Missy in The Witch’s Familiar, every cell of a Dalek is genetically hardwired to survive, their consciousness can live within the tiniest fragment of their DNA. Leo managed to clone the recon scout Dalek out of those traces and hooked it into the neural network. Disgusted after being shown the creature, Robertson tells Leo to incinerate it, but when he tries to do so, it escapes and takes possession of him. In a way, the recon scout Dalek was resurrected in this episode, but it didn’t feel like the same character.

While hooked into the neural network, the Dalek managed to make more clones of itself using Robertson’s resources, feeding them with the liquefied remains of the people who worked on them. After being confronted by the Doctor and the others, the Dalek uses the UV light to activate the Daleks, transport themselves into the shells that it augmented, then kills Rob and begins subjugating Earth.

Just as Jo Patterson introduces the defence drones in her first speech as Prime Minister, she gets exterminated by them quickly after they are activated. If Jack Robertson is an expy of Donald Trump, then Jo Patterson is an expy of Theresa May - a forgettable Prime Minister whose claim to fame (defence drones for the former, Brexit for the latter) backfired on them. To be honest, when I heard that they would be in this special, I almost thought that they got married or something.

There was a similar situation like this in the Series 3 two-parter, Daleks in Manhattan and Evolution of the Daleks, only this time, the Daleks were more involved. In that story, the Cult of Skaro were attempting to find a way to survive beyond the Dalek shell, to the point of creating Dalek-human hybrids, a new race with the intelligence of Daleks but with the emotions of humans. In both cases, the new Dalek variants were considered impure due to the human elements within them.

I’ve compared this episode to Victory of the Daleks when the trailer came out. With the addition of the conflict between the two Daleks (as I will outline below), there are additional contrasts to the Seventh Doctor story Remembrance of the Daleks and the Big Finish Eighth Doctor audio story Blood of the Daleks.

The nuclear option

With thousands of defence drone Daleks on the move and no weapons to deal with them, the Doctor seems to do the only thing she can think of that doesn’t involve destroying the Earth ala the Moment (which was what I was thinking) - signal a ship of Death Squad Daleks (SAS Daleks, but more brutal) to Earth to deal with the impure defence drones.

The two groups of Daleks confront each other on a bridge (specifically the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol). After seeing his Daleks get exterminated, Robertson takes his nuclear option - part with the Doctor and side with the Daleks. That’s right, Jack Robertson does an Utsumi (Nariaki Utsumi from Build, if you didn’t know) and sides with a race that would kill him the first chance they got. Give him a cane to break and we would have gotten the first tokusatsu meme in Doctor Who.

For someone who seems to be so obsessed with protecting himself (normally by using other people), I must say that this was a strange step for Robertson to take. Given that Robertson is an expy of Trump, one can only wonder what Chibnall and people like him think of Trump. Would Trump sell himself or humanity out to invading aliens? Personally, I don’t think he’d be stupid enough to do so. I think he’d bomb them with everything he has.

Robertson convinces the Daleks to take them aboard their ship and meet their commander. Meanwhile, Jack, Graham and Ryan board the ship and plant explosives on it. Graham tries to get Ryan to fistbump him, but he just tells him to “stop talking weird”. We’re back, fellow kids. Missed us?

Robertson tells the Daleks that the Doctor summoned them. The original Dalek returns and offers to be purified, only to be exterminated. Graham, Ryan and Jack find Robertson and they get off the ship together just as it is destroyed.

The Doctor floats her TARDIS in the sky among the Daleks and lures them inside, which would normally be an impossible feat if it weren’t for the fact that it isn’t actually the Doctor’s TARDIS, but the other TARDIS from earlier. She sets it to fold in on itself and send itself to the heart of the Void, thereby destroying them.

Soon after that, Robertson claims that he was acting as a decoy and so, he is lauded as the saviour of humanity. A honorary knighthood and a revived presidential run is mentioned after the toxic waste scandal (Arachnids in the UK) ruined his previous attempt. This is where my comparison to Utsumi weakens - Utsumi pledged himself to Evolto so that he could find a way to bring him down, but there doesn’t seem to be any ulterior motive in Robertson’s actions. Frankly, I’m surprised that he wasn’t exterminated at all.

Parting ways (for now)

By the time Graham and Ryan return to the TARDIS, Jack has left and is on his way to see Gwen Cooper, who has apparently had another child, a son. Honestly, his departure feels quite lackluster.

The Doctor offers to take the fam to a restaurant apparently named the Meringue Galaxy, but Ryan decides to leave the Doctor since he believes that his friends and planet need him. Graham struggles to decide, but in the end, he decides to leave with Ryan, leaving the Doctor and Yaz on the TARDIS. The Doctor gives them some psychic paper as a parting gift.

The final scene is a throwback to the beginning of The Woman Who Fell to Earth. Graham is helping Ryan ride his bike when they bring up some strange incidents around the world, like a troll invasion in Finland or gravel creatures in Korea. Ryan begins riding his bike one more time when they see Grace looking back at them in the distance. This is the last episode where Ryan’s dyspraxia is explored. Shame Chibnall never managed to do a lot with it.

We’ve known that Graham and Ryan would be leaving the series for months now, and we’ve also known that there would be opportunities for them to return. Let’s hope we see them again in Series 13.

Going back to my discussion about companions leaving, the major factor in Ryan and Graham’s decision to leave was that they had spent ten months away from the Doctor and unlike Yaz, they had already moved on with their lives. Additionally, for Graham, he doesn’t want to leave Ryan given the relationship they built up during their time with Doctor and possibly also for fear of abandoning Ryan, given how his father wasn’t there for him previously. This doesn’t feel as deep compared to other companions’ motives for leaving the Doctor, but it’s still quite deep.

At the end of Can You Hear Me?, we see Ryan talking to Yaz about spending their lives with the Doctor and forgetting everyone back home. I’d always thought that the human element of being a companion was annoying, but we have to remember that companions are people too and they had their own lives before they met the Doctor.

Other general thoughts

I know this is kind of irrelevant given that this episode was produced at the end of 2019, but could Leo be considered an Uncle Tom for inventing something designed to suppress protesters? By the way, don’t let China know about this or we’re all screwed, even in Hong Kong or Taiwan.

Jack gets a gold star for rescuing the Doctor. That puts Jack and Graham at 10 points and Yaz and Ryan at 20.

Jack also has his sonic blaster back as well. Will Jack also be back for Series 13? We’ll just have to see it to believe it.

The title cards are jarring again. Can the production team not be inconsistent with their fonts?

I swear, all the Yaz favouritism in the last two series must have given her Stockholm syndrome. Who’s to say that Mandip Gill wanted to leave, but Chibnall asked her to stay?

Taking a look at the designs for the Daleks, the defence drones are alright. They glow a bluish-white colour normally, but they glow red and shoot red beams when the Dalek creatures took control of them. You could probably mistake them for being red in the dark, which is highlighted when they are shown shooting people in the streets. As for the Death Squad Daleks, they’re basically just the basic bronze Daleks, including their leader. They should’ve brought back the multicoloured New Paradigm Daleks just so the Death Squad Daleks could be differentiated from ordinary Daleks.

Following the premiere of this episode, a new companion was announced for Series 13, with John Bishop playing the role of Dan. Honestly, with the Timeless Child mystery still looming and the lack of character development for Yaz, a new companion is the last thing this series needs, particularly since Series 13 would be Jodie Whittaker’s third series and possibly, her final one (if we’re going by previous Doctors). At the moment, Bishop is currently isolating after being tested positive for the coronavirus. I wish him well and look forward to seeing him in Series 13.

The reduced number of episodes in Series 11 or 12 may have contributed to the lack of focus on Ryan’s dyspraxia or character development on Yaz, but that’s no excuse. Chibnall had plenty of opportunities to factor them in, but he was too focused on not having a story arc in Series 11 and destroying canon in Series 12 to even think about it (Graham and Ryan got more character development in those two series than Yaz did). Now that Series 13 has been reduced to eight episodes (not counting the possibility of a split series or another New Year’s Special out of the eight), I fear that Chibnall won’t have enough opportunity to factor in Dan’s character development with Yaz’s character development, the Timeless Child, Ruth and/or the Master, particularly when he delegates half of the series to other writers and does very few good things in the remaining episodes he writes (or co-writes). Honestly, Series 11 and 12 felt like a waste of time in some aspects.

Summary and verdict

Like I said at the start, this episode acted as a good icebreaker in the long break between series. However, ever since my red-pilling in The Timeless Children, I’ve started to see this series in a new light, particularly with the help of YouTubers like Bowlestrek or Nerdrotic. Despite this, I’m reluctant to hop on the #RIPDoctorWho bandwagon because we still don’t have the full details for the Timeless Child arc, so I’m reserving most of my judgement until we get it.

Most of the episode was good, but the ridiculous part for me was when Robertson Utsumi’d himself and somehow managed to survive. Jack’s departure felt lackluster, Ryan and Graham’s departure felt lackluster to other companions’ departures and Jo Patterson was just... ehh. Let’s not forget that we didn’t see or hear a mention of the surviving humans from the previous episode because Chibnall just forgot about them.

Rating: 6/10 Series 12 total: 77/100 (77%) Series 12 total with Revolution of the Daleks: 83/110 (75%)

Overall, this special brought down my total score for Series 12, but it still did slightly better compared to Series 11. If it weren’t for Jack Harkness, my score for the episode would have been lower. Robertson, being a Trump expy, essentially represented all the SJW red flags in this episode; pointing them out is unnecessary at this point given my red-pilling.

That’s it for my review of the New Year’s Special. There is a certainty that Series 13 will premiere this year, so the next time I return with another review will presumably be in late 2021. As long as Jodie Whittaker is the Doctor, my mission to review her episodes will continue. Follow me on Facebook and/or Tumblr and keep an eye out for my future posts, Doctor Who-related or otherwise, such as the Kisekae Insights series where I give insights on my personal project, which was heavily influenced by Doctor Who.

Stay safe and I’ll see you then.

[thatssonanii]

Ghost (2)

Empire

Humming softly to herself, Nylah walked through Hakeem's house headed to the kitchen. This was the first time in a few weeks that she'd been there alone. Kiara had gone to work, her mom was at home and Hakeem, Tahj and Noah went to meet with Andre. All of them offered to stay home with her or take her with them but she declined. She just wanted to relax without them staring at her or following her.

Getting to the kitchen, she started to take leftovers out of the fridge and sit them on island so she could fix her plate. Her humming turned into singing one of Jamal's songs.

"Voice of an angel, I swear."

Nylah looked up from the food and frowned. She wasn't sure if she was hearing things or of it was real. From the time she had been having, she wasn't surprised that she was hearing his voice all the time. Not hearing it again she went back to singing and fixing her plate.

"I love to hear you sing, muffin."

Closing her eyes, Nylah took slow deep breaths and talked quietly to herself. "Breathe, you're alright. Its not real."

The doorbell chimed making her jump. She chuckled realizing that it was the doorbell and jogged from the kitchen to the front door. She looked at the monitor beside the door that showed the front door camera and didn't see anyone just a box. Figuring Hakeem ordered something, she opened the door quickly to grab the box and closed it back.

Nylah held the medium sized rectangular box under her arm and carried it back to the kitchen. When she sat it on the table, she noticed her name on the shipping label. Laughing, Nylah started to open it figuring Tahj had sent her something. Bags of gummy bears were inside. She took her phone out and called Tahj, he answered on the third ring.

"Is this my baby callin?"

"It is," she laughed, "And she got your gift. Thank you."

Tahj paused. "What gift?"

"The gummy bears. They just got here."

"I ain't send you gummy bears, Lala. Where did it come from?"

Nylah flipped the box closed to read the label. "Some candy store. Well if you didn't then Kiara must have."

"When it came?"

"Like five minutes ago. A delivery guy rung the bell and when I got to the door there was a package."

Tahj told her to hold on and put the phone on mute so he could talk to Hakeem.

"Aye, check your front door camera, Keem." Tahj said quietly.

Hakeem pulled his phone out going to the app. "What am I looking for?"

"Lala said a package just came like five minutes ago. I'm tryna see who dropped it off."

Hakeem sat quietly going through the last bit of footage. He turned the phone so Tahj and Noah could see it. "Looks like a UPS guy. Can't tell with the hat. She opened the door?"

Tahj shooj his head and took the phone off mute.

"Just leave the box where it is, Lah. I'm finna come back."

"No, Tahj, yall are working. I'm fine, I promise." She assured him going back to fixing her plate. "I'm gonna eat and watch TV. Maybe do my hair or something."

"Okay but don't open that door, don't go near it. Aight?"

"Alright, I promise. I love you."

"Love you too. We'll be home in a few hours."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kiara sat at her desk going over her godmother's schedule for the next week when her phone started to buzz. Looking at it, she noticed a few new messages and figured it was Hakeem again. When she opened them she saw that Nylah had sent her a few videos. She laughed softly opening the first one until she saw what it actually was. The first video was of Nylah standing in the bathroom singing and starting to remove her wig but Kiara knew from the angle that her sister didn't send it. The second was her sister starting the shower and walking back and forth to get hair stuff together. The third and final video was of her sister stepping into the shower then the camera flipped and she saw Graham, who smiled.

Exiting the thread, Kiara dialed her boyfriend's number and grabbed her keys. She ran out of the office to her car waiting on him to answer.

"What's up, beautiful?"

"He's in your house! He's there!" She yelled frantically as she started her car.

"Wait, what? Calm down, Ki."

Kiara put her car in drive and sped out of the parking lot. "Graham is in the house with Nylah! He's there!"

"Dammit," Hakeem cussed, "If you get there before we do, don't go in there. We comin."

Hakeem hung up with Kiara then stood from his chair. "Dre, my bad but we gotta go. We gotta go."

"What's wrong?" Noah asked jumping up as well.

"Ki just called. She said that Graham is in my house."

Tahj cursed loudly getting up from his seat.

"Go head, I think Mal was already headed that way. I'll call him and let him know." Andre assured waving them to leave.

Hakeem drove as fast and safely as he could through traffic. He didnt want to say it out loud and make things worse but he knew Empire was thirty minutes from his house and Kara's job was forty-five and that was a big gap of time that Graham had over them. He prayed Jamal got there soon.

Tahj called Nylah's phone hoping she answered.

"Wondered how long it'd take."

Tahj gripped the phone in his hand, "Where is Nylah? Where is she?"

"Calm down, she doesn't like for you to be angry. She's in the shower, man."

"Get the fuck away from her or I swear.."

"What? You swear what? Time is on my side. Not yours. Don't worry though, she'll be here when you get here. I'm not done yet." Graham said slightly whispering. "Oh, looks like she's done. I wonder how excited she'll be to see me."

Tahj started to threaten him again but he heard Nylah's scream and he froze. His whole world stopped in that moment.

When Nylah walked out of the bathroom and saw Graham she screamed but she couldn't move, her feet had betrayed her. She stared directly at him rooted to her spot.

"I gave you a compliment earlier. You didn't say thank you," he said tossing her phone aside. "I sent you a gift. You didn't say thank you."

"Graham, no. You're not here, you're not here," she repeated to herself. She shook out of fear as he took steps towards her. "No, no, no."

Graham gave her a wicked smile, "But I am."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jamal eased into his brothers house careful not to make any noise and alert Graham. He walked quietly through the house checking the open areas and a few of the rooms until he got to the room Tahj and Nylah had been staying in. The door was wide open so he carefully stepped into the room, seeing her sprawled across the floor a bloody mess with her towel over her, Jamal raced over to her. He checked for a pulse silently thanking God he could feel a faint one and took he phone out to call 911.

Hearing voices calling her name, Jamal rushed from the floor to stop them. He met them halfway in the hallway and stopped them from going around him.

"Where is she? Is she here?" Tahj yelled.

Jamal nodded, "She's here and the ambulance is on the way. Hakeem, take them back to the living room."

Kiara tried to get past Jamal but he held her back as tears streamed down her face. "Jamal, move! That's my sister! I wanna see my sister!"

"I can't, Ki. I can't. Just go with Keem," He said softly trying to keep his own emotions in check. "Hakeem, take her now!"

Hakeem pulled his girlfriend away while his brother tried to keep both Noah and Tahj back. They fought like hell to get past him but he couldn't do that to them. They didn't need to see her like that.

"Just let me go check on her, man. She by herself, just let me see her." Tahj pled still tryna go around him.

Jamal shook his head. He sighed in a bit of relief when he heard his big brothers voice directing the paramedics. Andre helped Jamal pull both Noah and Tahj to the living room. Minutes later, the paramedics came rushing out of the bedroom with Nylah on their gurney. They all caught a glimpse of what Jamal had scene and Kiara couldn't take it. Her knees buckled under her as a scream escaped her. Tahj and Noah tried again to get past the brothers to get to her but were unsuccessful.

One of the paramedics stopped to ask a question. "Is there anything we need to know about her? Medical conditions what?"

Tahj wiped his face calming down momentarily, tears still falling. "She's 9 weeks pregnant."

[silentauroriamthereal]

Writer meme

I was tagged by @ligeiasand! Thanks for the tag! 

ao3 name: SilentAuror

fandoms: Just Sherlock. I’m a one-fandom-at-a-time kind of person! 

number of fics: 86 in this fandom, working on #87 as we speak. Closing in on 2.3 million words now. :)

fic i spent the most time on: Hands down, Against the Rest of the World. It took me four solid months to write that beastie, writing literally every single day. The average chapter length is 7,585 words and I posted a new chapter on average every six days. I lived, breathed, and dreamed in that universe for months, finishing it literally two days before the mini-sode Many Happy Returns aired and immediately jossed it with new canon, lol. Doesn’t matter; I got it done!  

fic i spent the least amount of time on: I don’t know, honestly. I’ve written some fics in VERY little time. Possibly the most impressive given its length might be Deductions of a Lesser Mind, which I wrote, edited, and had posted within 24 hours of His Last Vow airing. It was my first series 3 fix-it fic and is 25,700 words long. That said, I think my really short ones, like These Four Walls (1,590 words), took me maybe half an hour? 

shortest fic: I don’t really do short fics, lol. But one of my few exceptions is Unspoken, written the night before The Sign of Three aired. It’s 1,130 words. 

most hits / most kudos / most comment threads / most bookmarks / highest total word count: Most hits: Best of Three: currently at 124,909 hits. Most kudos: Also Best of Three: currently at 5,423 kudos. Most comments: Against the Rest of the World: currently at 1,919 comments. Just comment threads? Also Against the Rest of the World, with 655. Most bookmarks: Best of Three again, currently at 2,284 (1,618 of which are listed as public). Highest word count: Against the Rest of the World, with 151,704 words (20 chapters). 

favorite fic i wrote: This is like having a favourite child. There are definitely stories that are closer to my heart... man, out of 86 stories, it’s really hard to say!! Can I choose five? In no particular order (really!), if there were five stories of mine that I always really want people to read, they might be: Against the Rest of the World, The Wisteria Tree, Bridging the Ravine, The Unfinished Letters, and Vena Cava. GAH, now I feel like I just sold out the rest of my stories! (I’m sorry, I love you guys, too!!) 

fic i want to rewrite/expand on: I’m a big believer in leaving a finished work alone. That said, I still have vague plans to write a sequel for Isosceles, wherein Sherlock and John go to LA to visit Corey Graham. :)

share a bit of a wip or story idea you’re working on: Hmm... why don’t I just give you the opening bit of my current project? 

Interesting, that soldier fellow. He could be the making of my brother. Or make him worse than ever.

Mycroft purses his lips and moves the cursor back to the start of the surveillance video, beginning it at the precise moment where John Watson rushes forward and begins to beat his brother to a bloody pulp. It’s not the first time he’s watched it. It’s not even the fortieth. He has every moment of it committed to memory, as he’s been thinking about it at regular intervals since the day it happened. He watches the scene unfold again with passive disconnection, then pauses the footage once Watson has departed, leaving Sherlock in a puddle of his own blood.

He leans back in his chair and folds his fingers behind his head, frowning in thought. The time has come to make a decision.

Tagging: All of you who write! I’ve tagged you, so now you have to do it, and say I sent you. Boom. 

[wkm-detective-abe-squad]

All Together, Prologue and Part 1

Making A Plan

Word Count: 2257

Based on this AHWM AU

Warnings: None

Author’s Notes at the end

Some say that the night is dead, that it is silent and empty, but that is never quite the case. As the moon rises and the world is lulled to sleep there is always someone, somewhere who resists the darkness’s lullaby. An owl, willingly or not, left to their own devices as the stars above make their journey across the skies.

Tonight, however, seemed to be filled with a whole flock, ruffling their feathers as wide eyes search for something far from their grasp, something that cannot be hunted by one alone.

With their skills, their experience, and their hints of jumbled memories, success appears to be in reach, despite the secrets, the conflicts, and the haunting truth.

However,

It is also important to note the average owl’s brain only takes up about ⅓ of its skull.

Which can equate to roughly the size of a thimble in some species.

…

Do with that information as you will.

________________________________________________________________

Blue and red hues colored the moonlight gently streaming into the lab, as the steady hum of machines filled the void with quiet noise. At the hour of 4 am, the halls should have been emptied hours ago, but of course science never sleeps, so neither did the scientist. It wasn’t healthy, she that more than anybody, but she considered it a small price to pay for what was at stake.

At least that’s what she told herself. It was difficult to label what exactly was at stake when nothing simply made sense anymore. Nothing was adding up in the way they should, and the scientific method she held on to appeared to be failing her at every turn.

The first indicator of something being amiss was the time. Yes, staying up till 4 in the morning was horrendous for a person’s circadian rhythm, but that wasn’t the major issue. The major issue was that the sun was shining bright, and the clock was reading 2:37 pm up until she had turned from her desk until just moments ago to be met with darkened windows. Yes, perhaps Einstein’s theory of relativity could be to blame, but she wasn’t that absorbed in her work… okay maybe she was, but even she had to get up once in awhile in the span of roughly 13 hours that had somehow passed in an instant.

The second indicator was a feeling that was gnawing at her from the inside out. A sense of Deja vu that would never leave, a constant feeling of a word stuck on the tip of her tongue, and bits and pieces of memories in her brain that seemed logically impossible, even in her dreams.

What did it all mean?

Despite the piles of handwritten notes strewn across her desk, she felt completely at a loss. At least she had the newly built Time Anomaly Tracker… that she had no recollection of building, to show for.

Maybe she just needed a break from it. Maybe things would make more sense in the morning after what little sleep she could get.

But first she needed to slow down the wheels turning in her mind. It was a good thing there was an old TV in the break room, that should do the trick. It didn’t take her long to plop down onto a dusty couch and grab the remote. Hopefully it would be enough to distract her from all her thoughts. 

-click-

“Order your bubbles today-”

-click-

“Welcome to Warfs-”

-click-

“You think she cares? Bad Dog!”

-click-

So picky, she couldn’t help but drone through the different channels until a shaky camera and a stuttering voice caught her attention.

“Hello everybody this is Jim, and this is my associate Jim. Welcome to this Jim News Exclusive -stay low, stay low- Tonight, we bring to you-” the reporter paused for a moment to dramatically point to the camera, as if this was a message directly to Rose Beauregard herself, “live footage from the scene of the crime. The crime of robbery. A robbery so mysterious, so mystifying that no one could even pathom how the the robberors could have broken into this heavily guarded museum in the first place!”

From the way they were sneaking around, it appeared that the reporters had broken into the museum. It was actually quite impressive considering the lines of caution tape that wrapped some exhibits like Christmas presents, the addition of a laser based alarm system, and the obscene number of patrolling guards and policemen that could be easily seen in the background.

"We must be careful Jim we don’t know what dangers may be lurking abo- oh hand me the steak," it was thrown off camera, quickly followed by a distant voice cheering in delight about the free snack, “The Old Steak Trick, works most of the time.”

Soon, maybe a little bit too soon, the Jims approached a very much unlocked and strangely unprotected vault. 

“Here it is, the grisly scene. Not one, not seven, not four, but two insidious individuals committed the reprehensible act of theft in this very vault. Yes, the item that once here is no longer here. It has disappeared, off with the perpetrators. We have no confirmation about exactly what it is they actually stole, but we have our theories. It could have been a treasure map or an ancient salt shaker, it may be from another world or the source of a time anomaly, it could be fairy (like the ones we learned about in history class) or the world’s oldest picnic basket, it could be all of these, it could be nothing at all, the possibilities are endless.”

“Now I’m sure many of you watching at home are shaking in utter fear, I am too, but fear not. Thankfully for you innocent, or perhaps not so innocent civilians, justice hit them hard, even harder than how Cousin Jim was hit by that bus, and a great many times quicker. Our inside resource has informed us Jims about the fates of Mark Iplier and his assistant Y/N. They are already locked up, far, far away at Happy Trails Penitentiary to never see the light of day again. We are safe, for now.”

“However, there is still a mystery to be solved. For unknown reasons, the object of question has not been returned to its rightful place. It’s tragic on every degree, that poor stolen object, it must be so scared and alone now that its captors are behind bars. But that is why we have taken it upon ourselves to get answers. And this time I swear, on every Jim ever to Jim, that we will find an answer to whatever, wherever, whenever, and whyever this thing is-”

The Jim’s voice was cut off by another’s, which resulted in the reporters and their sole viewer being being thrown off guard. In their hasty escape, the camera tumbled to the ground, making it even more difficult to decipher who the new person was. From the small glimpse, it didn’t appear like they worked at the museum, nor were they dressed as any law enforcer. Nevertheless, they didn’t seem so glad to see the trespassers.

“You two again!? Why won’t you quit?!?” was the last thing to be heard before the screen was claimed by static.

The scientist simply sat on, dumbfounded by whatever the hell she just watched. Her head was filled with so many questions she wasn’t even sure where to begin. There was a heist at a public museum, yet no one knows what was stolen? How were the perpetrators already in jail? Didn’t the crime just happen? When was the trial? And why did everything seem like it was…

Out of order.

“Mark Iplier… Y/N… A time anomaly”

It all finally clicked. 

This had all happened before. Well, sort of. The events were different as far as she remembered. Thankfully it appeared she was no longer in a timeline riddled with the undead and raiders, and undead raiders. However… if she had already destroyed the anomaly before, all of the time-space issues should have been fixed right? Unless, of course, her original hypothesis about of all this was wrong. Perhaps it wasn’t the box causing all the trouble, maybe, it was Y/N and maybe this Mark causing the trouble. The strangeness always seemed to be triggered by them afterall. 

Too many of her questions were still left unanswered, which only served to fuel her curiosity and need to fix this once and for all. However, this time Rose was no longer at a complete loss, she now had a lead, which only meant one thing:

Off to Happy Trails Penitentiary.

________________________________________________________________

Blue and red hues colored the moonlight blanketing the courtyard, as the blaring call of ambulance sirens added to the usual chaos of the night. 4 am was too late for any of this, but crime never slept, and apparently neither did any of the criminals. Which in turn led to a very sleep deprived and grouchy warden that now that had to deal with one prisoner being punched through the wall and another pulling off a magic disappearing act.

Not to mention the holes. There was a giant hole in the bottom of his office, several even larger holes in the cell walls, and another that was vaguely human shaped and a little bit too disturbing to deal with at the moment. It felt like the place was built out of goddamn graham crackers.

At least the injured prisoner was properly dealt with, Mark Iplier, or Asshole Mark as the other prisoners called him, broke too many bones for the staff to handle so he was sent off to a nearby hospital to recover. The warden didn’t mind, he was causing too much trouble anyways going off and asking for his personal belongings.

And speaking of the two’s personal belongings, the box they had arrived with just so happened to disappear with Y/N, who was otherwise known as *Insert Ridiculous Prison Nickname Here*. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to open it yet and now it was gone. However, that wasn’t the worst of it. Y/N was gone, or perhaps very good at hide and seek. He was hoping for the latter but after several hours of guards and prisoners counting and looking, it didn’t seem very likely.

The warden was offended on all accounts by the newest prisoner's conduct. There hadn't been a breakout in years and then suddenly they waltz in and think that they could just waltz back out like it was no big deal. Though yet again, he doubted the charade would last long. Most of the criminals of Happy Trails wouldn’t last a day out in the real world. They even sang a song about how they never wanted to leave. It would be soon enough until they came crawling back again, and when they did, they were going to face all the wrath of Warden Dave Murderslaughter. They were going to get rehabilitated harder than they would ever get rehabilitated before, whether they liked it or not.

But for now he had to play the waiting game. Somehow, someway or another, he was going to take the reins over once again. This was his penitentiary after all, and what kind of warden would he be if his jail wasn’t in proper order?

________________________________________________________________

At this hour the world seemed almost monochrome. It was an hour in which one should be snuggled up in bed, or in some cases, a jail cell safe from the dangers of the world. It was for sure not an hour where someone should be braving the summer night’s heat as they wander through tall grass, with no one other than the insects eating them alive as a companion.

Y/N had escaped, that was a given, but that didn’t mean they felt free. Once everyone knew they escaped, the hunt would be on. All they could think of at the moment was to carry on forward, but they knew they’d have to think of a plan eventually. If only Mark was there with them… he was always the one to point out their options.

But now they were all alone, truly alone… Wow, when was the last time that happened? Of course they couldn’t remember, during all these adventures memory never seemed like a necessity. With every bizarre scenario that came along, it was difficult to process the present as it was. Trying to analyze the past was a whole other be a feat in itself. As Yancy said, “The past ain’t the kind of thing to be trifled with.” It was the future they really needed to worry about right now.

They had to forge their way out of this mess somehow, but they couldn’t do it all by themselves. They needed to find Mark, or at least some they could trust, they needed to make sure no one else would be looking for them, and they needed to learn the truth about the box they had gone through so much trouble to steal. In it was a key as far as they knew, but inside they knew that there had to be more going on. Something that perhaps Mark wasn’t telling them about.

So now they had… something that resembled a plan. They were still unsure of the road ahead, but perhaps if they followed that plan… and don’t deviate from it… everything might just turn alright in the end after all. 

________________________________________________________________

Thank you for reading, it’s much appreciated :) Future parts should have less POV switching, this is just mainly to set up where each character is at starting out. (Also please don’t quote me on the owl facts, I was just trying my best to make a dramatic metaphor) 

Tagging: @thatforgottenbasilisk @thecatchat @statictay @gay-spaghetti @captainsaltypear @chelseareferenced

[brokehorrorfan]

Blu-ray Review: The Omen Collection

In the pantheon of religious horror, the holy trinity consists of The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, and The Omen. Although The Omen arrived last, opening on June 6, 1976, it arguably offers more excitement than its satanic brethren (which is not to say that it is a superior film). Likely to be considered a slow-burner by today's standards, the picture builds tension and unravels a mystery at a meticulous pace, but it's punctuated by elaborate, Rube Goldberg-ian death scenes.

The Omen spawned a trilogy of films, a made-for-television sequel, and a modern remake. Scream Factory has collected all five movies in The Omen Collection, which is limited to 10,000 units. Besting Fox's earlier Blu-ray set - which omitted Part IV and featured some of the worst box set packaging known to man - each film is packaged in an individual Blu-ray case with original artwork within a rigid slipcover case. It boasts a deluge of extras, new and old.

In the original film, American diplomat Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck, To Kill a Mockingbird) and his wife, Katherine (Lee Remick, Anatomy of a Murder), adopt a baby named Damien (Harvey Stephens) after their own child is stillborn. Beginning with his fifth birthday, a string of mysterious deaths surround Damien. Upon being presented with convincing evidence by a photographer (David Warner, Tron), Robert becomes convinced that his son is none other than the antichrist, and he is faced with the task of stopping him to prevent Armageddon.

Firing on all cylinders, The Omen is an exemplary horror film. Working from a well-constructed script by David Seltzer (Shining Through, Prophecy), director Richard Donner grounds the story firmly in reality. The fantastical elements are easy to swallow, as each and every incident in the plot could be mere coincidence. Peck brings a gravitas to the production, leading a strong cast in which Remick also holds her own. Even the six-year-old Stephens, who never acted before and did very little after, is convincingly malevolent.

John Richardson's (Aliens, Harry Potter) special effects for the proto-Final Destination deaths - including one of the greatest beheadings ever committed on celluloid - remain shocking after more than 40 years. Cinematographer Gilbert Taylor (Star Wars: A New Hope, Dr. Strangelove) captures it all with clean camerawork, while Jerry Goldsmith (Alien, Gremlins) provides a chilling orchestral score elevated to pure evil with choral chanting.

The Omen has been newly mastered in 4K from the original negative, approved by Donner, for the new release. The result is a pristine presentation with improved detail and color saturation over Fox’s previous high-definition transfer. The Omen carries a whopping four audio commentaries. One, featuring special project consultant Scott Michael Bosco, is new. His audio sounds compressed - as if it were recorded on a cell phone - but it's dense with details focusing on the theological aspects. Bosco often digresses, but I appreciate the fresh perspective rather than a historian reciting IMDb trivia.

The other audio commentaries include: a track with Donner and editor Stuart Baird (Lethal Weapon, Skyfall), in which the two old friends reminisce about the highs and lows of the production; a track with Donner and filmmaker Brian Helgeland (Mystic River, L.A. Confidential), which features as much good-natured joking as it does insight; and a track with film historians Lem Dobbs, Nick Redman, and Jeff Bond, largely focusing on Goldsmith's score. A lot of information is repeated across the commentaries, but the varying viewpoints make them all worth listening to.

Seltzer and actress Holly Palance (who plays the nanny whose suicide by hanging is among the film’s most memorable moment) sit down for new interviews. Seltzer's chat is particularly enjoyable, as he's candid and humble. He openly states that his script is not as good as the movie it birthed. He also shares what he would have done if he had the opportunity to write the sequel. Palance, the daughter of the great Jack Palance, recounts her naivety about working on her first film and shooting her iconic death scene. The final new extra is an appreciation of The Omen's score by composer Chris Young, who says he looked to Goldsmith's progression across The Omen trilogy as he was scoring the Hellraiser films. It's fascinating to hear one accomplished professional praise another in their field.

All of the archival extras are ported over: a thorough, 15-minute interview with Donner from 2008; 666: The Omen Revealed, a 46-minute retrospective from 2000 featuring crew members along with religious experts to provide context; The Omen Revelations, which is essentially a streamlined version of 666, recycling much of its footage in 24 minutes; Curse or Coincidence, in which the crew recounts a variety of curious incidents that nearly derailed the production; an introduction by Donner; a deleted scene with commentary by Donner; an older interview with Seltzer, which features a lot of the same information as the new one; and an interview with Goldsmith about his score. There's also an appreciation of The Omen by filmmaker Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street), in which the master of horror waxes poetic about the influential picture for 20 minutes; Trailers from Hell trailer commentary by filmmaker Larry Cohen (The Stuff), who cites The Omen as one of his favorite movies; the trailer; TV spots; radio spots; and four image galleries: stills, behind-the-scenes, posters and lobby cards, and publicity.

Following the massive success of the first film, Fox fast-tracked a sequel, Damien: Omen II, to open in 1978. Having narrowly survived the events of The Omen, a 12-year-old Damien (Jonathan Scott-Taylor) now lives with his affluent uncle, Richard Thorn (William Holden, Sunset Blvd.), aunt, Ann (Lee Grant, In the Heat of the Night), and cousin, Mark (Lucas Donat), in Chicago. Damien is ostensibly a well-adjusted kid, unaware of who - or what - he is, but those who cross him wind up dead in freak accidents.

Omen II's plotting mirrors that of the first film, but the mystery aspect that made the original so effective is gone. The viewer knows from the start that Damien is, in fact, the antichrist, so they're left waiting for the characters to catch up. The plot dedicates an inordinate amount of time to Thorn's business enterprises, which is only vaguely paid of in the next installment when Damien rises to power. On the bright side, there are several admirably inventive deaths in the tradition of the first, from a bird attack that would make Alfred Hitchcock jealous to a visceral elevator bisection to a harrowing scene of a man trapped in a pond under ice.

Since Donner had moved on to Superman and Seltzer was either uninterested or not asked (depending on the source) to pen the sequel, a new creative team was employed. Stanley Mann (Firestarter, Conan the Destroyer) and Mike Hodges (Get Carter, Flash Gordon) wrote the script, with the latter set to direct. Hodges only shot for a few days, during which he quickly fell behind schedule, before being swiftly replaced by Don Taylor (Escape from the Planet of the Apes). Goldsmith returns to score with a worthy successor, retaining the signature sound while expanding it to incorporate electronics.

Leo McKern is the only returning cast member, reprising his role as archaeologist Carl Bugenhagen in the prologue. Peck's formidable presence is sorely missed, but Holden - who, incidentally, turned down the lead role in The Omen - and Grant bring some prestige to the production. Scott-Taylor is a convincing surrogate for Stephens, but the child acting leaves a bit to be desired. It's offset by a supporting cast that includes Lance Henriksen (Aliens), Lew Ayres (All Quiet on the Western Front), Sylvia Sidney (Beetlejuice), Allan Arbus (M*A*S*H), and Meshach Taylor (Mannequin).

Damien: Omen II's Blu-ray disc features new interviews with Grant, who is proud of the sequel and shares a funny anecdote about discovering her first wrinkle while filming; Foxworth, who was able to get to know Holden, one of his heroes, on their daily commute; and actress Elizabeth Sheppard, who proudly discusses working with Holden as well as Vincent Price (on The Tomb of Ligeia). In a separate featurette, Sheppard narrates a gallery of her personal photos from the shoot, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the bird attack sequence.

Since Omen II's mythology has little biblical foundation, Bosco's new commentary features even more tenuous tangents, but it affords him the opportunity to discuss the franchise more subjectively. An archival commentary with producer Harvey Bernhard proves to be a bit more informative. The disc also includes a vintage making-of featurette consisting of clips, interviews, and footage from the set, along with the trailer, a TV spot, a radio spot, and a still gallery.

The Omen trilogy came to a conclusion in 1981 with Omen III: The Final Conflict - although it proved not to be final after all. As prophesied, Damien (Sam Neill, Jurassic Park), now 33 - the same age as Jesus when he was crucified - has risen to political power. Following the U.S. ambassador to Great Britain’s ghastly suicide, Damien is appointed the position, which was once held by his adoptive father. The only true foe for the antichrist is, naturally, Christ himself. Rather than bringing about the apocalypse, as the franchise had been driving toward since the beginning, Damien attempts to prevent the second coming in a sanctimonious conclusion to the story arc.

While no successor could top the original Omen, its first sequel smartly embraced the gratuitous death scenes. For the third installment, however, director Graham Baker (Alien Nation) made a conscious effort to avoid them. Instead, he delivers inept monks trying to assassinate Damien with the Seven Daggers of Megiddo, while the antichrist’s legion of apostles murder newborn males who are the potential Christ child. Andrew Birkin's (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) script leans further into religiosity at the expensive of the horror elements while interjecting silly mythology akin to Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.

Omen III: The Final Conflict's Blu-ray disc features new interviews with Baker, who takes a truly retrospective look back on the film, comparing the society of today to that of when it was produced; Birkin, who hadn't seen The Omen when he first met for the gig and wasn't particularly impressed when he finally watched it; and production assistant Jeanne Ferber, who explains how she was among those polled by Bernhard to help choose the lead, with Neill selected unanimously.

For his final commentary in the set, Bosco is back to pointing out the film's connections to scripture, leading to a lengthy tirade comparing Christianity and Judaism. An archival track with Baker has a few nuggets of information among extended gaps of silence, but most of his points are addressed more concisely in the new interview. Special features are rounded out by the trailer, TV spots, and a still gallery.

Although The Omen’s main storyline continued with two more book sequels, Fox opted to use the familiar title for a made-for-television movie on their budding network in 1991. Although dubbed Omen IV: The Awakening, the film largely serves as a remake of the original film but with a female antichrist. After numerous failed attempts to get pregnant, politician Gene York (Michael Woods) and his wife, Karen (Faye Grant, V), adopt an orphan girl. Seven years later, Delia (Asia Vieira, A Home at the End of the World) becomes increasingly violent and manipulative, leaving a trail of bodies in her wake.

Similar to Omen II's production troubles, Omen IV started with Jorge Montesi (Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal) in the director's chair, but he was fire mid-shoot and replaced by Dominique Othenin-Girard (Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers). Writer Brian Taggert (Poltergeist III) keeps the basic structure of Seltzer's original script intact, but the details of each beat are altered and the death scenes are subdued for TV. In addition to gender-swapping the creepy kid, it's the mother who is proactive this time around.

Despite maintaining the general outline of The Omen, the plot is harder to believe this time around, stretching the required suspension of disbelief to include psychics that can read auras. The most ludicrous plot point comes in the form of a shoehorned connection to The Omen mythology. This "twist" canonically positions Omen IV as a sequel rather than a thinly-veiled remake, but it feels more like a low-budget knockoff than an official installment in the franchise.

Omen IV: The Awakening doesn't have any audio commentaries, but its Blu-ray debut includes a new interview with Taggert, who breaks down several of the major choices made in the script. It also contains The Omen Legacy, a feature-length documentary on the franchise that aired on TV in 2001. Narrated by Jack Palance (City Slickers), it finds cast and crew members (including a couple of folks who don't appear in any other special features) and religious figures (the Church of Satan’s high priestess among them) discussing all four films while playing up the alleged curse. The trailer and a still gallery are also included.

Amidst the onslaught of horror remakes that dominated the early 2000s, Fox shrewdly capitalized with The Omen in 2006 - on 6/6/06, to be exact. Director John Moore (Max Payne) offers slick production value and an inspired cast, but it feels wholly unnecessary considering how closely it follows the original script. Seltzer is the only credited writer, but it's unclear if his 40-year-old script was simply polished off or if he was involved in re-writes, as there are some subtle changes to contemporize it. While it fails to bring anything new to the table, it’s a stronger effort than Omen IV.

Liev Schreiber (Scream) and Julia Stiles (10 Things I Hate About You) star as the Thorns. Talented as they are, they lack the chemistry of Peck and Remick. Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick is successfully creepy as the new Damien, while the role's originator, Harvey Stephens, makes a quick cameo. In a particularly motivated bit of stunt casting, Mia Farrow (Rosemary's Baby) plays the antichrist's new nanny. David Thewlis (Harry Potter) and Pete Postlethwaite (The Lost World: Jurassic Park) also have supporting roles.

The remake is the only Blu-ray in the set that doesn't offer any new special features. The existing extras cover a lot of ground, but it would’ve been interesting to hear the crew reflect back on it. Omenisms is a 37-minute documentary exploring the pressures of making a movie with a release date set in advance, even showing Moore losing his temper and yelling at a producer. It feels very of its time, with director Stephen French  treating the piece like a hip art film, but it contains a lot of great material.

Moore, producer Glenn Williamson, and editor Dan Zimmermann participate in an audio commentary that's fairly informative but doesn't touch on many of the trials and tribulations showcased in Omenisms. There's also a featurette about Marco Beltrami (Scream) recording his score at the legendary Abbey Road Studio; Revelation 666, a cheesy TV special tracing the history, interpretation, and theories of 666; unrated, extended scenes, including a longer version of the ending; and theatrical trailers.

While The Exorcist remains the be-all and end-all of occult horror, The Omen franchise as a whole is more consistent. The first three Omen films comprise a cohesive trilogy, while Part IV and the remake each offer a fresh, if flawed, perspective on the material. Between the movies, commentaries, interviews, and featurettes, The Omen Collection contains over 30 hours of content, making it an unbelievable value and a must-have for any horror collector.

The Omen Collection is available now on Blu-ray via Scream Factory.

[letterboxd]

For Sama.

“I think I crossed a lot of lines. One of the important reasons I had no limitations was because while I was filming, I never expected to stay alive.” —Waad al-Kateab, director of For Sama, newly minted Oscar nominee and Letterboxd’s highest-rated documentary of 2019.

In an awards season where the Academy Awards’ Best Director nominees are all male, it’s in the Documentary Feature category that you’ll find the women, on four out of the five nominated films: Julia Reichert (a director of American Factory), Petra Costa (director of The Edge of Democracy), Tamara Kotevska (co-director of Honeyland), and Waad al-Kateab, one half of For Sama’s directing team. (The final nominee is Feras Fayad’s The Cave, notably produced by Kirstine Barfod and Sigrid Jonsson Dyekjær.)

For Sama began as a record of the tragedies that so many don’t see, and turned into an essential, enormous archive of footage taking the documentary world by storm this awards season. There have been, and will be, many other documentaries about Syria, but what makes For Sama unique is its female eye behind the camera.

Looking forward to a future as a new mother and young wife to the love of her life, Hamza, Waad al-Kateab was never afforded the freedom to simply savor young motherhood. From age 21 she filmed the horrors and small joys of every-day life in rebel-held Aleppo covering five years of political uprising. This included the taxing day-to-day work of her doctor husband and their friends in the small hospital they ran on courage and donations.

That Waad made it out of Syria with her 500 hours of footage is no small miracle. Having gained refuge in London, she partnered with Emmy-award winning director Edward Watts to shape the film. We see her grow as a storyteller and become more courageous in her focus, zooming closer into wounds and keeping the camera rolling, even when those on screen are drawing their very last breaths.

For Sama has made waves around the world since premiering at SXSW in 2019. It’s an overwhelming experience; fearless filmmaking that captures the immense and urgent extremities of human joy and suffering. David Ehrlich called the film a “bracingly horrific yet resiliently beautiful documentary”. Graham Williamson noted that “beauty, in For Sama, is a reminder of humanity, a reminder that people still live and give birth and play and laugh and fall in love in these places, as well as just die”. Many other Letterboxd members could only quote al-Kateab’s poetic narration directly, to describe their intense emotional responses to the film:

“My first baby, Sama. Her name is meaning ‘the sky’. Sky we love, sky we want. Without air forces. Without bombing. Sky with sun, with clouds. With birds.”

This is what the filmmaker says of her daughter, epitomizing the hope that was never lost, that allowed her to be where she is today. Waad and Edward spoke to Letterboxd correspondent Ella Kemp just as our 2019 Year in Review went live, with their film topping the documentary list.

‘For Sama’ director Waad al-Kateab.

For Sama is the highest-rated documentary of 2019 on Letterboxd. It’s also the highest rated feature-length documentary of the 2010s, and is in our top ten documentaries of all-time. How does that make you feel? Edward Watts: That’s incredible.

Waad al-Kateab: To know that and to see that the film isn’t just doing well as a Syrian mission but in the film industry, it really means a lot to us.

EW: And to know that it’s reaching so many people is such good news. The dream was always that the film would reach many people and they would come in contact with this incredible story.

How did the film come together from over 500 hours of footage? WaK: I worked with Ed for two years to shape the film’s story, to decide what we wanted to keep and take out. We were open to trying everything. We had really amazing editors who were also so flexible with us and would let us try anything.

EW: It was about the meeting of our two perspectives as well. Obviously Waad had lived the experience, she was the insider. It was her story and in so many ways it was her people’s story, and I was coming to it from the point of view of an audience, of an outsider, albeit one that cared passionately about Syria and what happened there. The beginning part of the process was understanding our two perspectives and what was important to both of them, where they met in the middle. It was like sculpting, gradually working down this huge, extraordinary and powerful archive, and the shape of the film gradually taking form.

Ed, you’ve praised Waad’s footage for capturing “the full spectrum of humanity”. How did you find that balance in the final cut? EW: That was one of the reasons it took two years—it was a very complicated process to find that balance. In a lot of our earlier versions we didn’t have that balance. When it was told chronologically, you started in a place of light and hope, those positive emotions of the early days of the revolution. But then it was kind of a straight line down into the darkness and you ended with this long section during the siege and all of the hardship that involved.

It was too much, the audiences we showed early on became overwhelmed by the darkness at the end. It was a real journey. Because that wasn’t the truth of the experience, that was clear from the footage but also from Waad and Hamza themselves. The truth of the experience was that full spectrum of human emotion, so it was about finding the best way to reflect that by always thinking to ourselves, we’ve just had something really horrific, how do we bring it to the light? How do we keep it moving so that we never get stuck in one emotional place? When we changed the chronological structure to move around in time, that helped hugely.

Waad, in this film you’re omnipresent as a filmmaker, a citizen journalist, a mother, a wife. How do you see these roles informing each other? WaK: They were all mixed together while working on the film and living in those circumstances. In one second it was most important to be the journalist and the filmmaker, focusing on how I should shoot something, but then it would always still be so important to keep my awareness as a mother to protect my child and keep hope all the time. Sometimes you feel as a mum that you can’t leave, that you can’t film and abandon the one-year-old child—but this is what life was in those circumstances, it’s all mixed. I was just trying to live everything as much as I could to give it the right work and effort.

The finished product frames women’s domesticity in an urgent way. There’s war, there’s violence, there’s men fighting, but there’s also all the women behind and alongside it. WaK: In all the films and reports from Syria, we’ve never felt like our voice is heard. Even if there are female characters in movies, no one has their own voice in that loud way. There are layers of feeling happening very deeply to reflect the truest experience. We’ve never seen films like this. When I was doing the film I was focusing on how I can reflect the experience exactly, one that can speak to everything I love, everything I hate, everything I was scared about, to be honest with all the women and mothers who lived through that, who can see themselves in my shoes and see what I’ve done for Sama and for my work as well.

You film so viscerally, always going further, rather than choosing when to censor or cut away. Were there ever lines you felt you couldn’t cross? WaK: I think I crossed a lot of lines. One of the important reasons I had no limitations was because while I was filming, I never expected to stay alive. In everything I was doing, I thought, I could be dead tomorrow. So I kept filming, going deeply through all the fears we were living. It allowed me to be okay with everything, because I’m not a foreign journalist coming to film other people’s suffering. I’m living through that, and I know exactly what it means. I think that’s why if I were to make the film now and I knew I would survive, there might be many things I wouldn’t have filmed in that way.

Hamza al-Kateab, in white coat, holding his daughter Sama, with fellow hospital staff in rebel-held Aleppo.

When did you decide on the perspective of the narration, in addressing the film to Sama, Waad’s daughter? EW: The idea didn’t come until we were two thirds of the way through the whole process of crafting the film. When you’re living with this material for so long, suddenly you can hear it in a different way and suddenly it begins to speak to you. It was a moment of epiphany where we tuned into that essence of the film, not only in the way that Waad and Hamza had lived was for Sama, but the way Waad had shot the footage had a conversation going on with Sama, even before Sama was born, in the way Waad filmed her pregnancy. It was just one of those moments where we found the key that unlocked everything, and everything fell into place. Hamza is a very stoical person, but we called him up when we had this idea and Waad explained, and he started crying. That’s how we knew it was a good idea.

WaK: By linking everything to Sama, it becomes about not just Sama as my daughter but also as an idea of the future in general, hope, everything we were fighting for. Sama was one simple example of why the struggle existed. Everyone around me felt they could name the film for their own kids too. It really touched everyone who went through that experience in different ways. Everyone who has kids, everyone who dreams of having kids, even those who don’t want to bring kids into this world but have a stake in the future and are fighting for something for themselves, or for their country, or for their life.

You’ve said before that films can’t change the world. What do you hope for the legacy of For Sama? WaK: Films can’t change the world but people can. People who could be engaged in the film and really want to do something. That’s why we didn’t stop at making For Sama a film—that’s why we launched our impact campaign, Action For Sama. We ask people to react to what’s happening right now in Syria, to the bombing of hospitals and civilians, to make a movement.

EW: I had this great conversation, admittedly with one of those people you find in Los Angeles full of wacky ideas. I said, “films can’t change the world,” and he said, “man, what are you talking about! Your film is changing the soul of mankind!”. It was a bit much, but there’s something about this film that has connected people with what happened in Syria in such a visceral, emotional and personal way.

I wonder whether maybe it is part of the change that’s happening, that hopefully people will start seeing how connected we all are and that one day we might not live in a world where crimes are committed with impunity in the Middle East or elsewhere and we wring our hands and say that there’s nothing we can do. I really hope that this film is part of this sense that in order to solve the world’s problems and to stand up against these crimes and these tyrants, we all need to work together.

What film first made you want to be a filmmaker? EW: My parents were never together, and I only saw my dad once a month. He was a huge film lover, that was the thing that he chose us to bond over. He showed me Yellow Submarine, that trippy Beatles film. I got obsessed with the flying glove. And then he showed me a film called Séance on a Wet Afternoon, and I watched that when I was eight and didn’t know what the hell was going on. There was something about his passion for film that I drank in at a very early age.

WaK: I really don’t know the answer and have never thought about it. Even when I started filming, I’d never really thought I would be in this position as a director. What really makes me want to make films is the fact that we had such a lack of media and freedom in our country. Because we felt that there was nothing allowed to us, not to watch, not to do. Everything was totally under their control. That’s why I felt that I wanted to do something we couldn’t really hear or see before, which is why For Sama came to be.

What do you think of the specific strength of documentary as a form? WaK: I didn’t really watch many other things in the past. I’ve been watching documentaries here, one of the things I watched and really loved was American Factory. The other one was The Great Hack. The Biggest Little Farm, One Child Nation. Most of the people who are with us in this category! The only thing I knew about documentary was my point of view. When I watch these other movies, I admire all these people and love their films, and enjoy how you can see the world through different points of view.

EW: This is the great age for documentary. I’ve been making docs for over ten years. I think documentary is the right form for these crazy days we’re living through. These days of great turbulence, when the history of humanity is at such a critical juncture. I think documentaries in their reality, in their ability to tell us so much about who we really are, and these amazing people who are around the world, living extraordinary lives and showing the best of courage and humanity and difficult circumstances, I think that’s why they’re resonating more and more. Because sadly the world is more and more troubled.

One of the earliest documentaries that I loved was Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country—it was just an example of a country I’d never been to, a story that was so hard to tell, and yet, similar to this, it was told through the footage of the people who had actually lived through it. It’s such an extraordinary story of hope, and human beings’ desire for freedom, and then the violence of dictators that crashed that. Nothing like a documentary can capture that emotion when you’re dealing with events of such magnitude.

Which Syrian filmmakers and films should Letterboxd members seek out? WaK: There’s a filmmaker called Ossama Mohammed, he has a film called Silvered Water. There’s also Omar Amiralay, and Ziad Kalthoum, who did Taste of Cement. There are so many about people who maybe you haven’t heard of, but who really created cinema for Syria, who were trying to work in very hard circumstances while everything was happening.

Sama, with sign.

On the red carpet in Cannes you held up a sign: “Stop bombing hospitals”. What do you feel about your role at these kinds of events across awards season? WaK: I see myself as a Syrian woman who believes in this cause, and that’s why I made the film. I really believe that any filmmaker has a cause in their life and that’s why they’re really doing a lot things, out of passion. On every platform we can reach with For Sama, it really needs to be about Syria, and for Syria, and for the people, for this experience which I can’t just move on from.

That’s why we held the signs, that’s why in everything we are trying to do now, it’s always about how we can shed light on what’s happening. I hope we can continue to do that. We don’t do films for nothing. We want to be useful as much as we can, to be the voice for our own people and doing more for the future.

‘For Sama’ is currently streaming on PBS Frontline in the US and on Channel 4 in the UK. The 92nd Academy Awards will be held on 9 February 2020. All images courtesy of PBS Distribution.

[sablelab]

Covert Operations - Chapter 74

DISCLAIMER: This is a modern AU crossover story with Outlander and La Femme Nikita. LFN and its characters do not belong to me nor do those from Outlander.

SYNOPSIS:  Jamie is recalled to Section with much on his mind. He is summoned to see Operations in the Perch and needs to explain what happened in the club and why he disobeyed orders. Operations also informs him of his and Madeline’s pans for Claire.  

I’m glad that you enjoyed the tension of the last chapter and THANK YOU for taking the time to read, like, reblog and leave a comment on Chapter 73. I am very thankful.

Previous chapters can be found at …https://sablelab.tumblr.com/covertoperations

  CHAPTER 74

When they arrived back at their building the three friends stood outside their respective apartments and bade each other goodnight. Claire watched as Karen and Andy entered her apartment and closed the door behind them, then opening her own door she flipped on the light switch.  Once the lights illuminated her apartment, her silhouette was visible in the window.  Moving about inside she made her way to her living room little knowing that Jamie was observing her from his car parked outside the building.

Claire was thankful that Karen had not asked her to join them for coffee as she would have refused anyway. She was weary and physically exhausted. What had happened tonight inside the nightclub had been taxing and had put both her and Jamie in an invidious position.  Not only that, but the ramifications of the bloodbath would certainly be significant to how Section wanted the rest of mission profile to play out concerning Jonathon Randall.   Perhaps Jamie would have more information when he returned from Section when she next saw him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kicking off her shoes, Claire padded into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and took a long sip to quench her thirst.

The encounter at the nightclub had caught her off guard and she didn’t like that at all. Under the circumstances it was fortuitous that Karen and Andy had become separated from her ... especially in light of what had happened next. Little did she know what would transpire inside the club. In hindsight it had been a mistake that she had refused assistance when Fergus had asked if she needed back up. She knew she was impetuous and stubborn. Refusing backup had been an error of judgement but thankfully Jamie had been there for her. If it hadn’t been for his intervention she would surely have been exposed when she’d opened fire at the hostiles that had surrounded her. Although he’d disobeyed orders ... Jamie had been her lifesaver. She had been surrounded and had narrowly dodged bullets from the hostiles before he had come to her rescue. If she’d been caught the mission would have been affected considerably. Hopefully Operations would understand. Being compromised on a assignment meant that you were off the mission and Section One would have to start from scratch all over again. He would not have been happy especially after they had come so far and were on the verge of breaking the triad wide open. 

With a bit of luck Operations would be of the same view and sanction Jamie’s behaviour. 

Making her way into the bedroom, Claire changed out of her cocktail dress sliding the material off her arms and down to her waist loosening her hair from its topknot constraint as she went. Sliding the dress completely off, she headed into her bathroom naked and flipped on the light. Quickly showering, she felt great relief from the soothing warm spray from the shower head as it caressed her body. Putting on her comfy pyjamas she intended to wait up for Jamie but she was exhausted after what had happened tonight. Her eyes drooped in tiredness and she was unable to wait for his return from Section any longer.  Turning off the lights she went to bed, and was soon fast asleep. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Section One never slept. 

Even though it was relatively late when James Fraser walked through the main corridor to report to Operations in the Perch, operatives were still manning the computers and monitoring missions taking place. Despite being called into Section by his superior because of the aborted mission he was thankful as he also needed check out a few things of his own. 

Jamie walked past with his signature strut. The operatives glanced up from what they were doing and all eyes watched Section One’s top field operative pass by. His presence was always commanding and his body language marked him as a man who was extremely self-assured and formidable. James Fraser was hard to read and his minimalist expressions gave little away of the man beneath the cold operative veneer. He was both admired and feared and for good reason. Nothing this man did revealed anything about his emotional or mental state when he was within the walls of Section One.

The operatives did not engage him in conversation or acknowledge him as he passed by as Jamie looked like a man on a mission. With a smooth and unhurried gait, he continued on towards Operations’ aerie. Although he appeared to take no notice of the operatives at their tasks James Fraser missed nothing. He noticed that Murtagh was still in Munitions and as he approached Comm., he saw Fergus overseeing something in Tactical. He was glad Section’s techie was still up; otherwise he would have needed to rouse Fergus from his quarters as there were things, he needed him to do for him on the quiet. 

He’d already contacted him to do a search on Claire’s neighbour Karen Yee and he was still waiting for his answer. That was his first priority. He was suspicious about the nosey architect even if Claire wasn’t. She seemed to be way too familiar; too buddy-buddy, far too questioning and inquisitive and he smelled a rat, even though Claire seemed to trust her judgement as to her friend. Maybe he would be proven wrong but if his suspicions were true, as he believed they were, Claire may have been compromised to the triad. If that was the case she was on borrowed time. The fracas at the nightclub was another thing he needed to check out. Why were there members of rival triad gangs at The Triangle and where was Jonathon Randall when the disturbance broke out? Section knew that he was a member of the Rising Dragons but the bloodshed and fire bombing at the nightclub was unexpected. Thankfully they would have their own surveillance footage of the nightclub so Fergus may be able to piece together the people who had attended plus the perpetrators of the melee. Meanwhile Claire had been caught up in the middle of it. The fact that Karen Yee and her boyfriend had ushered her towards the exit when they had seen what was about to happen was a double-edged sword as far as he was concerned. Did they know something was going down or were they protecting Claire for ulterior motives? After all Jonathon Randall had made a dinner date with her. Did he have hidden objectives too? How much did Karen really know? And how much was she really involved or was she, as Claire insisted, innocent? He knew his Sassenach would be in a tenuous position the longer she was around these people, but he would do his upmost to protect her. He’d mused over whether to bring Karen and her boyfriend in tonight or to wait until after.  Despite what had happened in the nightclub, he was thankful that Section had approved surveillance cover on the couple. Claire would be safe until his return. Although Karen Yee and Andy Ma were minor players, they could inadvertently lead Section to the leader of the triad. Her superior, Inspector Jiang Ng at the OCTB, was also someone he needed to keep an eye on. He was a far greater threat to Claire’s safety as far as he was concerned. Perhaps there would be an opportunity to bring him into Section sooner rather than later and then he would be able to shed light on the inner workings of the Rising Dragons. Fiona Graham had given her life to give him the disk on Inspector Ng and although he appeared to be above board at the moment ... that could change within the blink of an eye if he was given a directive by his leader Sun Yee Lok. The explosive Intel that Fergus decrypted showed just how ingrained were his roots to the triad. His position of authority within the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau was the perfect foil for the triad to gain the upper hand and this was not acceptable. How much did the inspector know about his Claire? That was a worry too. Madeline had worked up a profile that would leave no loose ends about why Claire was in Hong Kong ... but was it watertight? Jiang was a smart man. Perhaps he had already figured out her role at the Water Police. Hence it was imperative that he needed to check to see if Inspector Ng had been doing any prying into Claire’s movements while she was with the Water Police and in particular Aberdeen. Yes. It was just as well he had returned to Section. There was much to do. When he had debriefed with Operations, he would be checking his sources, beginning with Fergus Claudel. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* “Jamie?” Murtagh’s voice echoed behind him but it sounded awfully loud against the silence and broke him from his thoughts. Turning his head at the sound of his name, he momentarily looked at the bandana clad weapons’ expert but continued on his way. Seeing he had captured Jamie’s attention, Murtagh rushed to catch up to him. Once he had fallen into step with the younger man he murmured, “Where’s Claire? ... Why isn’t she with you?” Jamie continued walking without looking at Murtagh Fitzgibbons but unexpectedly he turned and gave him his patented blank stare. “Operations only called me in.” But Murtagh was none the wiser and looked at the cold operative with a puzzled look. He stopped walking while James Fraser hastened his stride. “Why ... what’s going on?” he enquired after him. However, Jamie didn’t reply to his question. As soon as Murtagh had uttered the words though, he froze. He watched Jamie’s retreating back as he continued on his way to the Perch.  

Something was going down. Jamie had only just returned to Hong Kong and now he was back in Section again. Inquisitiveness flashed through his thoughts in speculation. Things were not always as they seemed in Section, but all this to-ing and fro-ing was destabilising and put the mission in jeopardy, not to mention it left Claire vulnerable all on her own. Perhaps Jamie had returned to request more back up.

Murtagh stopped, and watched as James Fraser turned the corner leaving him to ponder the severity of the situation. Something was not right and he was going to find out just what the problem was. Turning on his heels, Murtagh went in search of Fergus. Surely, he must know something. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* “Sir ... Jamie has arrived and is on his way.” Operations knew that James Fraser was in the building.

 He’d seen his Level 5 operative approach while he was glancing out of the perch and was waiting for him to make an entrance. He had expected Jamie back a lot earlier than this, but Fergus had informed him that there had been a situation at the nightclub soon after he’d issued his order to return. Whilst all the backup team had left the premises in the mission van, Fergus had informed Jamie that he needed to alert Claire to his orders before his return to Section One. He’d then remained behind because of a conversation between Karen and Claire of an unlikely situation that threatened to explode inside the club, which indeed had happened. Trouble quickly escalated and Claire was in danger of being compromised. 

What had then transpired was something he would need to discuss with James Fraser which he knew he would find objectionable. Summoning Jamie back to Section so soon after he had just returned to Hong Kong, was a necessity. The aborted mission to apprehend Jonathon Randall had not gone ahead due to the greater opportunity with Claire, one on one, the following evening. The target’s obvious interest in her would work to Section’s advantage and instead of bring him into Section as first planned, Madeline had profiled that Claire would capitalise on his infatuation with a different profile.  

She had already arranged that Claire be cleared for absence from the OCTB for a short while to expedite the new profile. They knew that Jamie wouldn’t like it but it was for the good of Section One.  After all, the end justified the means and Section would use whatever, and whoever to achieve their objective regardless of any disapproval he knew wold be forthcoming.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* No sooner had Operations been informed that James Fraser was on his way to the perch than he received a surprise call from the very person he was always loathed to talk to ... Colum at Oversight. “Dougal...” “Brother ... it’s good to hear from you again.” “Yes I’m sure. How are things going with the Rising Dragons’ mission?” “I sent you the Intel report last month. As you know Section One is making great inroads.” “A little too slowly for Oversight though Dougal ... are there any new developments yet?” “Of course. Did you get my proposal on the tactical situation?”

“Yes, I did but Oversight wants results ... and so far we feel Section is floundering. Fix it Dougal!” “I have my best operatives involved Colum.” “James Fraser and Claire Beauchamp have everything under control then I gather?” “Yes.” ”Good! See that they continue to do so!” “Anything else?” “Not at the moment but if I have any requests, I'll forward them to you.” “You do that Colum ...” Then Operations cut him off with a brusque, “Look I'm afraid we're very busy.” “Right ... But remember what I said ... I’ll expect Section to have something more concrete to show Oversight in the future. Goodbye Dougal. “Colum.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Disconnecting the call Operations peered out of the window of the Perch overlooking the comings and goings in Section as he waited for Jamie’s arrival. He had a lot on his mind particularly since his conversation with his brother.  Oversight was the body that controlled the activities of all of the Sections, including Section One.  In the chain of command, Oversight was one step down from the supreme body Center, and Dougal was not at all pleased that his brother Colum Mackenzie was its leader. He was a thorn in his side and seemed to always be checking up on him and Madeline to ascertain if they were running Section One properly.  He and Madeline had been able to keep Colum at bay but it would not be beyond the realm of possibility for him to make a snap visit to Section One. In the current climate that would be a catastrophe given all the anomalies that had been occurring lately ... the latest being Jamie’s recalcitrant behaviour. Hence Operations had things to discuss with James Fraser ... the most pressing being his actions at The Triangle nightclub and the changed situation in Hong Kong. He was in two minds about his Level 5’s blatant disregard for orders. It was not the first time Jamie had done so and it would probably not be the last, but his insubordination could not go unpunished. However, in this particular case he had completely understood Jamie’s reasons. Perhaps he would let this one slide this time because of the extenuating circumstances. After all the Rising Dragons mission was at a critical stage. They needed Claire and they needed Jamie to be on top of his game. Had Claire been exposed it would have certainly jeopardised the mission considerably and been a terrible set back to all the good work done thus far. He had a lot to think about. When Jamie had not returned to Section One with his Team, he’d summoned Fergus to the Perch to please explain his failure do so. He’d been forced to say why Jamie had been delayed. Although he was furious at his disregard for orders, it was fortuitous that he had been delayed after all. Having heard the audio of the conversation between Karen and Claire, as well as reviewing the mission tapes and the visual from inside the nightclub, he understood his Level 5 operative’s motives. The unplanned shootings, and Claire’s entrapment until he’d come to her assistance, had been completely unexpected. It was apparent that she had indeed been ambushed by members of the rival triads as well as members of the Rising Dragons. Hence the elimination of the hostiles was the only way for her to escape without blowing her cover. As a consequence though, the situation in Hong Kong had now escalated because of the events at The Triangle. The presence of the rival triads at Jonathon Randall’s nightclub had exacerbated the problem, and given that there was such a confrontation and bloodshed, the triads would be restless to make amends. In short, the situation could become critical and highly volatile. However, on the positive side, it had turned out to be a win-win situation for Section that had miraculously fallen into their lap and one that Section One would exploit. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Jamie stood calmly collecting his thoughts before he quietly entered the Perch.

“Ye wanted to see me?”

Operations had his back to him as usual and did not know his Level 5 operative was there, but at the sound of his voice he turned acknowledging his arrival. A stoic James Fraser, stood with hands clasped in front of his body, waiting. Dougal Mackenzie studied his cold operative’s demeanour.

“Jamie ... Good! ... You’re here. Fergus told me why you were delayed.”

“It was beyond my control.” “Yes ... Nevertheless, we have things to discuss.” “Of course.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Jamie had not moved from the position where he stood when he had first entered the room. His entrance had been as stealth as usual and standing his ground, he waited for his reprimand from Operations. He’d been in this situation before and knew that the worst-case scenario for him would be to be put into abeyance; however, he was sure that would not be his punishment. Not a single muscle flinched as he waited and observed Operations. It seemed to Jamie that he was churning over in his mind what he would say to him. Moving towards him Operations glared at his operative first, then eventually spoke. Anger laced his tone of voice. “Fraser... you disobeyed orders ...” Standing his ground he looked at his superior then replied in the affirmative, “Aye, I did,” while waiting for what would come next. Operations continued but displeasure was etched on his face especially because of what he was about to say next, “It is not the first time you have done so, however, under the circumstances there will be no consequences.” James Fraser looked his superior in the eye and nodded his head in acquiesce, “Thank ye.” “I’ve just reviewed the post-mission statement and visuals on the mission. In fact, the scenario couldn’t be better for us.” “Is that so, sir?” Operations was very pleased with the change in situation and voiced his plan.  “Yes.  This situation has played right into our hands beautifully. Jonathon Randall will now be free to spend time with Claire since The Triangle will be closed indefinitely until they clean up this mess.” Jamie knew exactly where Operations was going with this.

Claire’s success on her previous cover mission with Madame Cheung was the litmus test that Madeline and Operations knew would work again. Jonathon Randall though was another proposition altogether. He gave his standard answer although in his mind he was churning over the possible dangers involved for her. 

“Of course.” His patented reply was a predictable response from his Level 5 Team Leader and one Operations expected. “She’ll be able to give us a better field perspective about Randall and his association with the Rising Dragons just like she did with Madame Cheung.” His statement raised a response from Jamie. “And what about the OCTB?” “That has already been taken care of. Inspector Jiang Ng will be informed that Claire has a special assignment on the directive of the Chief Commissioner.” “Won’t that make him suspicious?” “Exactly ... but given his connection to the Rising Dragons, he can hardly refuse the Commissioner’s request. If he protests this could expose his link to the triad.” This was worse than he thought. Claire would be a sitting duck ... Her subterfuge would expose her and could very well place her in serious trouble. “Claire will thus be in a position to bring in Jonathon Randall and Inspector Jiang Ng at the same time if the set-up plays out the way Madeline and I think it will.” “And if it doesn’t?” “We’ll create a third party ripoff ... that’s where you’ll come in. We have a perfect opportunity to make a move on Randall. We won’t get a control window like this for months; we have to use it.” “This could place Claire in danger, especially if they realise she was responsible for a significant number of the deaths at the nightclub,” Jamie stated. “I disagree.” It was apparent that Operations had no compunction about an operative being expendable if Section triumphed in the end. “The attention will be on the Black Panthers and the Red Lanterns’ triads, not on Claire. I’ve just finished studying Fergus’ report. There’s a high percentage that Jonathon Randall will go into hiding if there’s any sign of trouble. He will be vulnerable and willing to lay low. That’s where Claire will be at an advantage.” The more Operations laid out his scenario for his Claire the more he was concerned for her welfare.  He voiced his concerns to see how far Operations and Madeline were prepared to use Claire and to what extent to see if they were correct.

“Is this on a temporary basis or were you thinking of something a little more … permanent?” 

“It’s unclear how long, but given Randall’s apparent infatuation with Claire, we feel that her continued connection to him can be extremely useful to us.” “Of course.”

“Then, when the time is right, we’ll deal appropriately with all three of them including Sun Yee Lok as well. Claire’s mission is justifiable. I’m sure not even Oversight would take kindly to your interference. Remember you are expendable Fraser.” “I know.” “Claire has her job to do and you have yours. If you’re harbouring any thoughts about separating Claire from her assignment, you’d better get them out of your head.”

His silence at Operations’ statements was Jamie’s only reply. 

“You’re to become familiar with her current mission status that Madeline has profiled.” 

“Of course. Is that all?”

“Yes, for the moment. Updates are on your PDA.”

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jamie realised that their superiors had no compunction in using Claire to gain the upper hand by any ways or means of apprehending the target.  But the plan would leave her vulnerable, given that Karen and Andy were also intent of doing her some harm. This scenario was fraught with danger from many different sources but to Operations mind an operative did what they were told or suffer the consequences of their actions.  But there was no way that he would leave his Sassenach vulnerable to harm in any way shape or form.  If that meant going against orders, then there was nothing he wouldn’t do to keep his Claire safe.

 He would suffer the consequences of his actions and Section be dammed. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ to be continued

[ko-chan-the-blueberry-donut]

Red Crackle/Rebellious Birds Valentine’s Day fic

Gray made sure to wake up extra early to sneak out before his roommates woke up. He journeyed to Dr. Bellum’s lab to pick up something very important for today. Dr. Bellum knew it was him when he entered as she scrolled through footage giggling at something. Gray didn’t really want to know.

“Ah, Crackle! I expected you’d come early. Your project is in the fridge. You’re lucky I was able to come up with a formula to make them last longer than normal ones.” Dr. Bellum told him.

“Thanks, Dr. Bellum.” he was polite, not wanting to seem too eager to get to the fridge, but he couldn’t help feeling a little giddy at the success of his project.

“No problem.” she waved him off, continuing to watch her videos and giggling. Gray hastily made his way to the fridge, opening it to reveal a beautiful bouquet of exactly twelve bright red roses tied together with a blue ribbon. He worked on growing them himself in the bio lab with some tips from Dr. Bellum, who would grin knowingly at who exactly the flowers were for.

“Hopefully she likes them.” Gray whispered, both nervous and excited at the prospect of seeing Black Sheep’s expression when he gave her the roses. Black Sheep was very vague about how she came to be to the academy so Gray wondered if she grew up around roses where she lived and would know the meaning behind this particular type of rose and the bouquet arrangement.

“Have fun.” Dr. Bellum teased. Gray blushed, excusing himself after retrieving his prize. When he left, Dr. Bellum checked all the security cameras so she would have a front row seat for when Gray would give Black Sheep the roses.

“kukukuku my ship is so adorable.” she cackled gleefully.

-----------------------

Gray made sure he was stealthy around the campus as students began to walk around for the morning. He didn’t want anyone to possibly spoil his gift for Black Sheep.

Though he supposed giving her roses on Valentine’s Day wasn’t exactly a surprised, but he knew she wouldn’t be expecting it from him. Ever since their first meeting when she manhandled him, Gray was smitten with Black Sheep. He loved how much of a fire cracker she could be and make him feel like his body was alit with sparks constantly. If he was corny, he’d tell her she really put the sparks in his crackle, but since his teammates laughed at his “Graham Crackle” suggestion, he’d been more careful not to show how much of his humor to avoid being made fun of.

Being with Black Sheep was like free falling–the adrenaline rush she gave him with her chaotic nature made him feel alive–as if he was merely existing before her.

Now he was living.

He’d tried making his feelings known, but Black Sheep didn’t seem to get what he was trying to convey. He wondered how much Coach Brunt sheltered her. It was well known the massive woman had an extremely soft spot for the young girl.

He was so obvious that he was sure his other teammates were taking bets on when Black Sheep would figure it out for herself he felt less than brotherly towards her. However, it seemed no one was winning, and Gray was left with having to go with Plan B.

Being loving and supportive wasn’t enough. He needed to show Black Sheep with actions that he was serious about her. So when Valentine’s was approaching, he got the idea to grow her special roses to help convey his true feelings. Lucky for him, Dr. Bellum seemed to have a soft spot for “young love” as she put it and was more than happy to give him tips on how to grow roses in a tropical environment.

He finally found her out in the gardens, enjoying solitude before classes started. She looked like she was talking to someone, but he saw no one. Gods, she looked so beautiful. Was it possible to be that pretty?

Steeling his nerves, he straightened his posture and composed himself. It would do no good to be less than charming for his pretty thief.

“Black Sheep!” he called. She jumped, clearly not expecting him to find her, and quickly maneuvered a bit before facing him with a smile so bright it made Gray’s knees weak.

“Gray, hey!” Black greeted, waving. He made sure to hide the bouquet behind his back so she wouldn’t see until the right moment. Black Sheep was completely unaware of the flowers he had for her. “Where were you this morning? I had to deal with Tigress complaining about how El topo’s snoring cut into her beauty sleep all by myself.” She made a face. Gray couldn’t help but laugh.

“Sorry. Just had to pick up something from the lab. Didn’t think you’d miss me that much, Black Sheep.” Gray smirked teasingly. Black Sheep barked a laugh.

“What can I say? I need someone sane other than me to deal with those three.” Black Sheep told him. She noticed he hadn’t moved his one arm from behind his back and curiosity tickled her. “Whatcha got there, Gray?” Black Sheep asked, trying to see what he was hiding. However, Gray was swifter than her and successfully hid the bouquet from her sights. He took a deep breath internally.

“That’s actually what I came to see you about. Remember how I said I had to pick something up from the lab?” seeing her nod, he continued, gaining courage. He was known as the most charming student in their class—he wouldn’t let his nervousness get in the way of sweeping Black Sheep off her feet. “Well, it is a gift for you.”

With his most sincere smile, he produced the beautiful roses from behind his back. Black Sheep’s eyes widened, and she gasped, excitement clear on her face. Gray felt proud of himself at her reaction. She came closer, gently caressing the petals, almost afraid to fully touch them as if she’d crush them.

“What are they? I’ve never seen these flowers before.” Black Sheep mused out, in awe at the bright red of the rose petals.

“You… you don’t know what roses are?” Gray blinked, shocked Black Sheep never knew about roses. Just how sheltered was she?

“Roses.” She tested the word on her tongue, and Gray found it utterly adorable at her pleased expression at pronouncing it right. “Where do they grow? Are they common? Do they always come in red?” she fired questions rapidly.

“Calm down,” Gray laughed at her enthusiasm. “I borrowed a book about flowers from the library. We can look at it together later.” He promised. He then appeared unsure. “That is… if you want?”

Play it cool, Crackle! Don’t sound like a lost puppy! He scolded himself. However, Black Sheep looked ecstatic at the prospect of learning more about the world. She tentatively took the roses from him, cradling them close, as if they were a precious treasure. He knew in a way they were—any knowledge Black Sheep gained, she cherished like a priceless artifact.

“Sounds fun.” Black Sheep answered, still staring at the roses fondly. She directed her stormy gaze to his caramel ones and the awe in them made his breath hitch. She clutched the roses a little tighter, as if she was afraid someone would take them from her. “Not that I’m complaining but what’s the occasion?” Black Sheep asked him, tilting her head.

“You… you don’t know what today is?” Gray blinked, hardly believing his bad luck. Was it really possible his luck was that bad that Black Sheep wouldn’t know today was Valentine’s Day?

“February 14th?” Black Sheep replied, wondering if there was a significance to the date she was missing.

The answer was yes, Gray’s luck really was that bad.

-----------------

Should I continue? 

Red Roses: A red rose is an unmistakable expression of love. Red roses convey deep emotions - be it love, longing or desire. Red Roses can also be used to convey respect, admiration or devotion. A deep red rose can be used to convey heartfelt regret and sorrow. The number of red roses has special romantic meanings associated with them. 12 red roses is the most popular of all which conveys "Be mine" and "I love you"

[armageddon-generation]

Making an arc out of series 11 (and other fixes)

I DON’T MEAN TO HATE - I genuinely really liked this TARDIS team, Jodie has completely won me over and the episodes not written by Chibnall were great - but this series does have several frustrating Issues.

One recurring problem I see people having is that the finale didn't feel climactic because there was little build up.

A few ways to fix this :

The Woman Who Fell to Earth

Just improve Tim Shaw - alter his design so he’s not just a black robot-man - take the tooth idea and do something like the Sycorax?

Change the ball of electricity into an actual creature - then establish Tim Shaw’s abusive relationship with it, taking out his viciousness on this helpless slave, because he’s a coward

This mster/beasty relationship would give Tim more character and make him easier to hate

It also establishes the running theme of the Stenza altering/controlling other creatures - it gives them a distinctive ‘gimmick’ like Dalek extermination and Cyberman conversion, which we can expand on in The Ghost Monument, The Tsuranga Conundrum and The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos

The Ghost Monument

Establish the threat of the Stenza - ravaged worlds better (show us the flesh eating water instead of telling us about it and have more time with the Remnants instead of those boring robots)

Do this by giving Desolation (which is out of orbit) short, irregular days (5 hours, 3 hours) so the threat of the Remnants is always there - build tension and character at day (the “Mum told me to jump” speech) and have scary chase sequences during the two night sections

The Stenza using Desolation to create weapons of mass destruction reminds the Doctor of the Time Lords' tactics in the Time War, (that's why she's so interested in the planet) and establish that Yaz wants to know what happened to the Doctor's people/family

One of the racers should've had their planet stolen, not just enslaved, to establish the mystery of the planets Tim Shaw is stealing

Show their desperation by having the racers actually compete and fight with each other, with Team TARDIS stuck in the middle. Both characters believe they deserve the prize because they've suffered and lost more.

Yaz separates them, directly paralleling her intro scene in episode 1 - from parking disputes to this.

GIVE 13 HER BIG MOMENT because I waited until literally the last line of the series to understand where she's coming from. 13 is the joyous explorer, she doesn't have time for wallowing in angst, there's too much universe out there to see.

Something like: "It's not about what you've lost, that doesn't make you better than him! All that matters now is what's ahead. What are you going to do if you win, where will it take you? Have you even thought about it? Because maybe, just maybe, if you stopped pitying yourself you could make something good from this. Yes, you're family is gone and I'm sorry. But just because they're dead doesn't mean your life should stop too. Move forward."

This helps Chibnall's 'Fresh Start' mandate because it establishes 13 as completely different from RTD and Moffat's Doctors (especially 10 and 12) who felt a sense of superiority because of their past pain. It also ties into Ryan and Graham letting go of Grace.

The TARDIS went to Desolation in the first place because it wanted to help the planet (remember she has personality) - 13 realises this once they reunite.

We've previously established the TARDIS can change the weather, and it's had thousands of years on Desolation to prepare calculations etc, so have a sequence at the end where they show off to the new conpanions and terraform the planet, reversing the Stenza's damage

Post - credits scene / stinger - while the companions explore the TARDIS, show 13 viewing the footage the TARDIS collected over thousands of years of the Stenza violating the planet - she doesn't look happy, but then Yaz calls her for a tour and she puts on the bright smile again.

Yaz

I think Team TARDIS in series 11 was meant to be split between the familial relationship between Ryan and Graham, with the standard swept-off-her-feet almost-romance between the Doctor and Yaz in the background. They didn't focus on Thasmin much because I think Chibnall assumed 'oh, we've seen this before'

SHOW THE GROWTH OF YAZ AND THE DOCTOR'S RELATIONSHIP. IT SHOULDN'T BE ROMANTIC (YET) BUT JUSTIFY THEIR DEVOTION TO EACH OTHER

Because Yaz is a police officer have her 'investigate' the Doctor's past - especially her family, as that's an important part of her character and theme in the series as a whole. Since Chibnall loves Classic they could mention Susan

This makes 13 telling Yaz about her Granny in It Takes You Away an important milestone in their relationship

Yaz to Ryan about the Doctor's family:

Thirteen's character

People complaining Jodie isn't unique enough kind of have a point, but the seeds are there:

I like the idea of 13 being easily distracted and careless ("I'm almost going to miss you." / "Hi Yaz, forgot you were there."). Her being slow to trust contrasts nicely with Jodie's infectious enthusiasm. Have Yaz's role be keeping 13 focused, grounded and on-track when she needs to be.

Also! I've seen the idea thrown around 13 is only acting all bright and chipper. It'd be really interesting if she prioritises Team TARDIS' emotional wellbeing over her own

This way we have parallel arcs - Yaz gets the Doctor to open up as Ryan gets closer to Graham

13 and her Sonic

13 is meant to be a tinkerer, but we don’t see much evidence of this outside building the Sonic

So she wears a tool belt

The belt is TARDIS-like (bigger on the inside) and 13 pulls things out of it like Mary Poppins’ carpet bag

13 pulls bits of scrap out of the belt and cobbles things together when she’s excited / nervous / talking (pipe cleaner helicopters! Catapults! Wind-up mice!)

This distinguishes her from 11, who also did a lot of hand-flapping and is already superficially similar personality-wise

More floofy/fly-away haired 13! It makes her seem more energetic, constantly in motion, which really suits her.

The popular headcanon is that the Sonic works randomly (one episode it can do things, the next it can’t) because over the years the Doctor has added so many features they’ve overloaded it. So now she’s got a new Sonic, 13 is constantly fiddling with it/adding new features

Address the NuWho Doctors’ over-reliance on the Sonic - 13 keeps expecting the Sonic to do things but because it’s new hardware, it can’t, and she has to solve problems on her own

A running gag where 13 goes ‘watch this, gang’ and the Sonic does something completely opposite what she wanted and now they have to improvise

In the finale the Sonic finally works properly and 13 uses it to beat Tim Shaw

Occasionally (in an episode opening) 13 makes weird machines without knowing what the fuck they do:

13: [holding up a small device] Does this look familiar? Do you know what it is? Neither do I. I made it last night in my sleep. Apparently I used Gindrogac. Highly unstable.

Yaz: Doctor…

13 : I put at button on it. Yes. I want to press it, but I’m not sure what will happen if I do.

Ryan: [runs for cover]

13 and Graham

In Series 11, 13 always seemed annoyed by Graham (“Don’t kill the vibe”) and never seemed to grow past it.

Suggest 13 is living vicariously by helping Graham reconnect with Ryan – the Doctor first started travelling in the TARDIS to connect with their grandchild, so this is 13 coming full-circle

13 notices how good and Granddad Graham is trying to be for Ryan, and as he grows braver she comes to really respect him.

Graham becomes her confidant – he’s the only one 13 shows her age to, and she helps Graham begin again: They talk about how the Doctor has had to reinvent and regenerate themselves again and again because the universe needs them – much as Ryan needs Graham. 13 has lots of experience moving past loss, and they support each other through the pressure of being responsible (for Ryan and Yaz respectively)

Ryan

Have the Doctor and Ryan's relationship develop - in The Woman Who Fell to Earth they suggested 13 would take a nurturing parental role for him ("That's the kind of thing Grace would've said") but it's not really built on. All the pieces are there (him being immature and using weapons in the beginning)

Ryan and 13 have a sibling-like relationship - she teaches him about life and the universe - have 13′s use of slang (skillz with a z) come from Ryan having fun teaching slang to a socially inept alien

also maybe a reccuring joke about Ryan going for a fist-bump and 13 patting his fist, that pays off by the finale

Does anyone remember Ryan and Yaz went to Primary school together? Capitalise on that. When Ryan talks about how his Dad left him in Tsuranga and It Takes You Away, make it explicit that she understands because she saw Ryan go through it as a kid, and remembers what it did to him emotionally

A common complaint about Ryan is that he rarely actually does anything - he just stands there and says "they're gone!" or "it's a spaceship!". So have this be part of his character. In the early episodes have Yaz be the most active companion (allowing her to develop!), with Ryan (nervous about his dyspraxia) in the background, and have him become more and more active and competent as the series goes on.

Episode Order

For this to work I suggest shuffling the episodes - 1, 2, 8, 4, 6, 5, 7, 3, 9, 10

10 60-minute episodes to fit the new stuff in and give the large cast more room. The Woman Who Fell to Earth (60 minutes) was Chibnall's best script.

This way series 11 gets the same screen time as the 12 episode Capaldi series

Instead of 2 trailers for the next episode (one pre and one post credits) insert a post-credits stinger hinting at arcy things

The Witchfinders (We’re Going on a Witch-Hunt)

Swap Rosa and The Witchfinders around. We can get the 'female discrimination' thing out of the way faster (it felt weird they didn't explicitly address it until episode 8). Yaz and 13 can bond over their shared oppression (this is the first time the Doctor realises what history is like for her female companions - for the first time, they are of equal status and must work as a team).

Also have Yaz, the POLICE OFFICER, be personally offended by the miscarriage of Justice in the Witch Trials, and defend the victims - relate it to her experience on the job (maybe touch on domestic abuse?) instead of the cliche bullying story

The villains being escaped convicts from a prison also links to Yaz's character and job - contrast her applying police protocol to the Morax (she never had a case this big at home!) with 13's "fuck it, time to wave the glowy science stick' attitude - Yaz forces 13 to be disciplined, 13 forces Yaz to think outside the box and bend the rules

Arachnids in the UK (Spiders in Sheffield)

Still episode 4 - this needs a complete rewrite IMO, but for starters make the Trump parallel less explicit and cringey

Address Yaz has left her job as a police officer behind - she goes into work (with 13 as her ‘consultant’) and learns about people disappearing - we meet the spider expert at the Police Station, (because Yaz’s  neighbour being the only victim AND working in that spider lab was too big a coincidence) 

The expert is being ignored because the disappearances are higher priority, so low-ranking Yaz gets stuck with her

The spiders have spread all over Sheffield, not just the one flat and all around Yaz’s building

Have Ryan, Yaz and the Doctor go to meet Yaz’s mum at the hotel while Graham is mourning Grace in their nearby flat

When the spreading spiders reach Yaz’s family, Graham goes to help them, showing how brave 13 has helped him become.

We now have two tension-filled scenarios:

A home invasion subplot where Graham helps Yaz’s family keep the spiders out of their flat. Use this to flesh out and make her sister and Dad likeable - Graham comforts them when they’re scared, calling back to Grace's last line "promise you won't be scared without me" - 13 has helped him!

13 and Co being chased around the hotel (PROPERLY chased - the spiders use webs to cut off corridors and herd them around like rats in a maze)

YAZ GETS TAKEN BY THE SPIDERS - this is the moment 13 realises how attached she is to her new friends. She and Mrs Kahn work together to go and save Yaz from the Spiders’ nest (eliminating that annoying Jackie Tyler “you’re endangering my kid” trope) while Ryan uses his music to draw the spiders away

13 gets to see Mrs Kahn’s maternal affection and we see her desire for family. Ryan’s music draws the Spiders back and saves Graham and Yaz’s family

When Ryan and Graham reunite it’s very emotional - Ryan saved Graham’s life - ‘looking out for each other’

Finally have the Doctor save the Spiders by using the TARDIS as an Ark, instead of leaving them to die - call back to Planet of the Spiders and drop them off there

Since she's at home, once they’ve saved everyone have Yaz do girly things with the Doctor (because they haven't been able to rest since episode 1) - maybe nail painting? Only 13 starts using the varnish as finger paint. Also! I like the idea of them choosing 13's earring together bc 13 has no clue about jewelry

Demons of the Punjab

This should be episode 5, because it's connected to 4 by Yaz's family and together they provide a nice rounding-off of the half of the series more focused on her

The Thijarians have had their planet stolen, not just destroyed (it would still kill everyone)

That way when we see the hologram of what happened to their planet we establish the threat of what will happen to the Earth if Tim Shaw wins in the finale

(the powder they have can still be the stuff left over afterwards)

Also it's weird that Yaz goes to see her Grandmother, who she discovers remarried, and Ryan doesn't react at all.

Ryan has nothing to do in this episode, and because we're putting Punjab earlier in the series, Grace's loss is fresher. Give him a moral dilemma: He wants to go back and see her when she was young (and with her first husband - implicitly rejecting Graham) like Yaz is seeing her Gran

After seeing what happens to Yaz's family, and seeing Graham's caring reaction to Prem, he follows 13's advice and gives up on seeing Grace again - he's content with Graham

He bonds with Yaz over the episode and warns her not to take family for granted. At the end Yaz takes him to meet her Gran in the present day ("I was lucky enough to know yours")

The Tsuranga Conundrum (The Good Doctors)

Have the medical ship be a war ambulance helping victims of the Stenza's conquest

The general on board has fought the Stenza

Cut her brother and the 2nd nurse, they're unnecessary - have the ship be understaffed because of the strain the Stenza are putting on the medical service, give the engineering role to 13

The asteroid field they have to fly through (which we should ACTUALLY SEE) is not just an asteroid field but the wreckage left behind by another missing planet.

Replace the P'ting. It may be cute but the vast majority of people thought it was ridiculous. Instead have it be a Stenza weapon left over as the ship is flying through an old battleground - it can still be small and destroy the ship from the inside out, but its design can be more threatening and it can be more sympathetic (it was experimented on/created to kill, it isn't evil)

13 tries to pilot the ship first but can't because she's wounded. She has to rely on Team TARDIS and delegate the usual ‘Doctor’ roles. She faces off against the tactical P’ting, trying to fix the ship as fast as it disassembles it, while Yaz runs around trying to catch the thing, and Ryan and Graham take care of the passengers

The sonic STAYS BROKEN so 13 has to do this all by hand

Once 13 is told the Stenza are still out there hurting people, introduce a subplot over the next 3 episodes before the finale where she's sneaking off at night to go and help fight them (without the others knowing, because they're too emotionally biased)

The next episodes (Kerblam!, Rosa) gradually shift the focus onto Ryan's growth as he becomes more active

It Takes You Away

Add 13 and Graham - now close friends - talking about grandkids, and put more emphasis on 13′s reaction to the abandoned girl

This sets up the Solitract turning into Susan, the Doctor’s granddaughter, instead of the frog at the end

You don’t require previous NuWho knowledge to know about Susan - she has barely been mentioned.

Have her be played by the actress from An Adventure in Space and Time, like David Bradley as the First Doctor 

This way we directly address the theme of grandchildren and family

The Solitract is a link to 13's childhood and family. It's also another omnipotent consciousness she can relate to (think 9 and Bad Wolf - "That's what I feel, all the time!"). Finding that and immediately letting it go must be traumatising

Have a quick scene of Yaz catching 13 crying, but she quickly covers up because Graham just saw Grace and he's distraught

Finale (Battle Phantoms)

When they arrive on the battlefield 13 accidentally reveals she's been helping fight the Stenza offscreen (which is how she knows about this battle - one of the ones she was too late for)

This lie infuriates Graham - she's been blocking his revenge for ages

BIG EMOTIONAL MOMENT

13: Maybe I am a liar, and I promised I wouldn't be, but that's because I know what it's like, Graham. To want to hurt the people who hurt you. How that anger burns like fire, like a supernova. And it took me so long to get over it, so long to move on. Whole lifetimes wasted hurting and hating. I didn't want that to happen to you. No one deserves to be broken twice.

This gives Graham a legitimate reason to go against 13 without announcing his intention to kill Tim Shaw like an idiot. It also plays up 13's hypocrisy, which was touched on in the original script

What was the point of 9 distress calls if they're all in the same place?? Use this pportunity to split team TARDIS up and showcase how they've grown as individuals before bringing them back together (Ryan and Graham, Yaz and 13) for the 3rd Act

Graham being on his own drives up the tension over whether he'll kill Tim Shaw - Ryan gets there just in time

Explicitly call back to the moment in The Ghost Monument when Ryan used a gun - highlight how far he's come because of 13, talking Graham down

Get rid of the robots, because they weren't in The Ghost Monument now, and they turned the intimate story into an action movie.

Over the series we've established the Stenza genetically engineer other creatures into weapons (the Remnants, the P'ting, the cable ball in The Woman Who Fell to Earth). Replace the robots with scary leftovers from the Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos (because that title was irrelevant to the original episode) - Think the Hand Mines from The Magician's Apprentice

Have each of the missing planets throughout the series be named - that way when we discover the stolen planets in the finale there is emotional impact because their being stolen has caused so much suffering.

This way not only are the Stenza a lot more threatening because they are present throughout the series, there is more build up to seeing Tim Shaw again

Also, the subplot about returning the planets is more emotionally impactful - the Doctor is retroactively providing closure to lots of the side characters from the series

Finally the threat to Earth is much greater - the companions have seen what losing your planet does to a person emotionally, and they fear that

WHEN THE EARTH IS THREATENED CALL BACK TO YAZ'S FAMILY SO WE FEEL SOMETHING

Also the continuing thread of missing /lost planets could link to Galifrey, raising 13's emotional stakes

Multiple people have complained the plot thread about the planet attacking you psychically and erasing your memories went nowhere - when 13 and Yaz take those devices off they get slight headaches

Instead have the planet actually attack them - 13 and Yaz have to remind each other of their memories and their families - exposing Yaz to a rare snapshot of the Doctor’s lonely childhood on Galifrey

This gives Jodie the opportunity to do some SERIOUS DRAMATIC ACTING, and finally opening up about Galifrey to the whole TARDIS team at the end gives an emotional climax to her relationship with them, as well as the relationship between Ryan and Graham

The Fam line is cute, but we need ACTION to evidence this growth - this way throughout the series we’ve established how much family means to 13, how much she wants that, and Yaz saying “I’ve always liked fam” means so much because it means she understands 13 as a person

Resolution

Change how the Dalek got split.

Medieval humans killing a Dalek on their own is ridiculous and makes itr less threatening. Instead, have the Dalek be a scout from the Time War, looking to attack Earth to distract the War Doctor. The Doctor, furious, rushes over and helps the human armies divide it, to stop the Time War spreading to his second home.

We’re told this legend by the archaeologists, positioning the Doctor as a vengeful wizard. We can get a flashback with the War Doctor as a dark silhouette on a hill or something.

This makes the “it’s personal” stuff even truer

Use the archaeologists and dig site to expand on the Dalek race’s impact on humanity, because they’ve visited Earth dozens of times. I’m thinking wall paintings depicting the Dalek Shell as a Divine war chariot, and the mutant as a Cthulhu-like God

This way we’re really throwing Team TARDIS in the deep end - they are immediately aware of the number of times the Doctor has fought the Daleks, which is completely different to the rest of series 11, where 13 was encountering everything for the first time

Change the junkyard Dalek shell.

The Scout goes to a storage facility where pieces of its shell are stored. Now this place is owned by the modern incarnation of the cult we’ve set up who worshipped the Dalek in ancient times (their logo is the same symbol found on the wall paintings)

Instead of killing the gay (AGAIN), have the company staff welcome and exult the Dalek - only for it to turn around and kill them all, establishing its racial superiority complex. (This is something Chibnall glossed over - his Dalek wanted to conquer like anyone else, not exterminate)

The company has collected the remains of dozens of different Dalek models from invasions across the show’s history (we still have the parallel to 13 making her Screwdriver)

The Dalek reassembles itself not using Earth metal, but into a Frankenstein’s monster welded together from different Dalek designs (classic 60s, Imperial, Special Weapons, Time War, Supreme, Progenitor)

When the Dalek and 13 face each other this one Scout now represents the entire Dalek race, every type the Doctor has ever fought. The idea of it stitching itself together is also a nice parallel to Regeneration

Destroy the Dalek by separating all the different sections - use Ryan’s dad’s technical skills but don’t have all of Team TARDIS rush the Dalek without getting killed - them pushing it around immediately removed any threat.

Emotional Impact

Seeing the remains of all the Daleks the Doctor has killed at the storage facility and hearing the stories of the War Doctor makes Team TARDIS reconsider 13

Police officer Yaz realises she is devoted to a murderer, and considers whether she wants to get closer to such a person

To make the Dalek more impactful to both Team TARDIS and the new audience that has only watched Series 11, when Graham asks why it’s so dangerous have 13 say something along the lines of “the Daleks are my Stenza”

Graham realises why 13 stopped him killing Tim Shaw in series 11, and (considering his Dad must’ve fought in WW2) gains a new level of respect for her

Don’t have Ryan immediately forgive his Dad and declare that he loves him - set up that he’s willing to give his Dad a second chance as an arc for series 12 - the push and pull between Graham and Ryan reconnecting with his Dad

The Scout is trying to complete its original mission, bringing the Tile War to Earth - 13 has to  literally defend her freinds from the ghost of the War and finally let go of her violent past (personified by the War Doctor). She’s also letting go of the deified, Messiah-like version of herself (represented by the wall paintings of the Doctor’s battle with the Dalek) that RTD and Moffat loved

13’s arc is worrying learning about the Daleks and their toxic relationship will change the way her friends look at her, because she’s been trying to protect them from this side of her life (it’s revealed she’s been deliberately avoiding places she’s been before because she’s looking for a fresh start)

By now Ryan and Graham are getting along fine, they’ve avenged Grace’s murder and Ryan is now talking to his Dad. 13 worries everyone has outgrown her, and they’ll leave

Have a scene at the end where Yaz comforts 13 and assures her she won’t abandon her - 13 doesn’t need to save their lives for them to want to travel with her - it’s their job to save her. They are here because they care about her. 

This way we get a new emotional climax of 13′s emotional arc and reaffirm the status-quo for Series 12

Improving Matt Smith’s era here