Site Update: Okay, Okay, Okay

I was going to do a Twilight Zone essay. Still am. But I've been doing (gasp!) research and my thoughts are still bubbling. So it might be a bit

Sorry about that.

Dan Curtis

I'm not positive on the accuracy of this, but Wikipedia has it that Dan Curtis passed away yesterday.

Dan Curtis was the producer on the horror soap opera "Dark Shadows" as well as the producer of the original "Night Stalker" movie. He directed several genre related movies, including "Trilogy of Terror", "Dracula" (with Jack Palance as the Count), "Scream of the Wolf", "House of Dark Shadows" (based on the series), and "Night Strangler" (sequel to "Night Stalker.")

Verdict on Christopher Eccleston's Doctor

We will no doubt delve into this subject more at a later date, but as it stands after watching three episodes of New Who, my parents rank Christopher Eccleston's Doctor quite high. Mom calls him the best Doctor since Tom Baker. Dad likes Eccleston because his preformance is reminisent of the same Baker. As Baker was their first Who, the comparisons do not surprise.

Me personally? Like I said, I'll get into that later. Right now, I think he's an excellent Doctor.

More jabbering about Who later. I think I'm going to talk a small respite from the Time Lord. Maybe a brief trip to an area between day and night, light and shadow, reality and fantasy...

Site Update: The Hell?

Came on board today and found the second part of my Doctor Who essay all in orange. Wasn't like that yesterday.

Was it?

Any way, I went through it and fixed it.

Ugh. Blogger, why d'ja do it to me?

Glee! Gojira! (II)

So it has come to pass... More Godzilla films slated to be released in their intended format!

Not as joyous this time.

Swore I'd never buy "Godzilla's Revenge", and now it's a part of a package deal.

I dunno. Maybe the sets not worth it...

I know I'm not foolin' anyone here. Owing a DVD version of "Ghidorah" alone makes it worth it. Just means I'll have a new Frisbee... Or drink coaster...

Doctor Who and Me (II) - Early to Middle Years

Pinnacle

On my eighth birthday I received my first Doctor Who Novelization. It was, by coincidence, "Revenge of the Cybermen." I remember next to nothing about reading it, but, then again, that was one of the most eventful periods of my young life, so I'm not surprised. I do know that it was published by Pinnacle (the link should lead you to the cover and a bit of info about the book.) Pinnacle published twelve Doctor Who books, both Third Doctor and Fourth Doctor stories. I had each and everyone at one point. Like most treasured items of youth, they are all gone now.

I remember looking at one of them and being most impressed with the cover. Two space ships side by side in front of a blazing sun. The one on the right was okay, but the one on the left looked really weird. All these sticks poking out of it. Bumps on the side, too. Never saw anything like it.

Also on the cover, was this monkey face. As the title of the book was "Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks" I knew for a fact that that was a Dalek. Pretty cool alien, too.

I don't have to say how wrong I was, do I?

(With the exception of the Dalek links, all links in this portion of the essay lead to On Target, a site covering Doctor Who zations. Most interesting, for a long time fan, that is.)

Lead to Sin

Around the fourth, maybe fifth grade, I was to be an alter boy. I discussed this with my mother and we can't decide if it was her idea to do so or mine. Doesn't matter in the end; I was fine with the idea. Went to practice, even kind of looked forward to going to church for a change.

And then PBS started broadcasting "Doctor Who" in regular episode format on Saturday mornings. Same time as alter boy practice.

Well I wrestled with my conscience a bit...

That's a lie. There was no wrestling. I quit and watched "Doctor Who". It didn't stay on Saturday very long at all, but it was worth it. Oh so worth it.

Fan Fiction

In fifth grade, we were allowed to write stories and put them in a box to be read by the class. We might have read them in front of the class, but I'm sure I didn't do that.

I wrote one of the few pieces of fan fiction I would ever write. It was a Doctor Who story, of course, and it had a whole bunch of monsters and villains in it. Even ones who should have been dead.

For the life of me, I can not remember the plot or even the title of this opus. But it was stapled together and had a cover with all of the Doctor Who Monsters I could think of on it. It was probably a better read than most fan fiction.

Which is damning it with faint praise.

Birthday Present

Also during my fifth grade, Brother Todd was born. On the day it happened, Brother Eric and I stayed home from school and even got to sleep over at a friend's house. Big day indeed. After Todd was born, Dad took us out and bought us both a book a piece, a big deal in those days. Eric got a Garfield collection. I got "The Invasion of Time".

I often wonder if Eric remembers what book he got that day. Me, I don't think I'll ever forget.

Taping

Now here we get a little hazy in my memories. At some point during this period we bought our first VCR. Also during this period, I believe, the Chicago PBS started playing Doctor Who... from the beginning. The parents got the wonderful idea of taping each and every last one of them.

Finally my brother and I were able to see "Doctor Who" whenever we wanted to.

It was... glorious.

Tagged! Song Addendum

No, I'm not continuing my list. Though I should.

Instead, I'm happy to report that not only have I tagged Brother Eric, but Eric has put up a list of his own. The curious may go here to read more. Those who have been tagged already may, of coure, ignore his unusual tagging methods.

Some of it surprised me... Some did not.