Today in list form
Things I have done today:
- Had brunch with
barbana and nakedbee. - Did the remix reveal and answered remix feedback.
- Washed the car. This is a grand American tradition for sunny Sunday afternoons, and we don't get any other kind in Northern California in the summer. Conversation:
"Why are you bothering to wash it?"
"The front has bugs all over it!"
"You're only going to put more on." - Filled the gas tank.
- Went to REI to look for climbing shoes again. Failed to find the right size. Again. The problem is I'm scared to get them as small as I really should.
- Cooked and ate dinner. Used up all remaining raw ingredients in giant stir-fry, since any food remaining in the fridge will certainly go untouched by Mr P for the entire time I'm away. He might, just might, eat the leftovers from tonight.
- Watched the "Silver Nemesis" serial, continuing our Seventh Doctor + Ace love-in. Mr P reports that the chess game is not a real one. He sneers. This serial is, however, refreshing after the previous horror.
- Tinkered with playlists for the car iPod.
- Finally, packed.
Things I have not done:
- Line-edited my stories for tomorrow morning.
- Finished the third story.
- Found my bathing suit.
Sorry I missed brunch -- weekend was a bit crazed, what w/ new job, having to put in some hours on Sunday to start making progress on the mountain of work that was waiting for me, and Mr. West's sudden surprise trip to Taiwan that popped up (he's leaving early this week, be gone for a week). So: brunch next time...
Happiness Patrol is one of the Sevens I'd file under 'nice idea, horrible realisation'. But the success of the story tends to rely quite heavily on your appreciation of Sheila Hancock's Thatch-impersonation. (And having the common decency to consider Margaret Thatcher one of the most morally bereft and damaging things to ever have happened to the United Kingdom...)
Silver Nemesis, on the other hand, is pretty much the same plot as Remembrance but with Cybes instead of Daleks. And a really embarrassing scene with an American in a limo. Redeemed somewhat by Ace being so filled to the brimming with arse-kick-osity that she can take out an entire platoon of Cybermen with nothing more than a catapult and a bag of gold coins. (Though there are some who interpret that sequence as 'Ace fundamentally undermines the Cybermen as a Who villain' or 'How are we supposed to continue to suspend disbelief after this?' Fortunately my love of Ace allows me a distance from such cynicism.)
Anyway, it is lovely, hearing the thoughts of a newcomer to this era of Who. It makes me rather jealous, as I'd like to be discovering the stories all over again.
Are you aware of the New Adventures that continued the Seven 'n' Ace partnership in novel format for a while? They tend to divide fan opinion quite dramatically. Which, given that we're talking about Doctor Who, seems fitting...
Silver Nemesis was at least competent, if uninspired. The director had been introduced to such Direction 101 concepts as "visual links between scenes". And think of the joy of a title that, gasp, means more than one thing. Though yes, the American in the limo was unintentionally hilarious.