derekmetaltron

Doctor Who/Star Trek Delay (Plus Unfinished List!)

derekmetaltron — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:55:04 GMT

Been a bit of a busy week lately with Uni, much to the extent that I'm gonna have to delay my impending Doctor Who/Star Trek face-off for at least a week whilst I finalise the list and get a couple done so I'll have something to stick up on busier days. Have to say so far that TARDIS Wiki and Memory Alpha have proven incredibly useful in my pairing, not to mention some suggestions from fellow Whovians and Trekkies. That been said I'm still missing a couple of spots on the list but to get your appeite wetted here's the presently unfinshed list. I stress the fact that this isn't altogether the order in which they might appear just yet:

Doctor Who vs Star Trek Aliens Face-Off Meme

Sontarans vs Klingons
? vs Romulans
Slitheen vs Ferengi
? vs Cardassians
Silence vs Species 8472
? vs Hirogen
Adipose vs Tribbles
Celestial Toymaker & Trickster vs Q & Trelane
Ood vs Talosians
? vs Bajorians
Rutans vs Founders
? vs Jem’Hadar
Draconians vs Andorians
Silurians vs Voth
? vs Vulcans
Ice Warriors vs Gorn
The Master vs Kahn Singh
? vs Kazon
War Lords vs Krenim
? vs Orions
? vs Betazoids
? vs Trill
? vs Vidiians
vs Vorta
Weeping Angels vs ?
Yeti vs ?
? vs ?
? vs ?
Daleks vs Nomad
Cybermen vs Borg

Let me know what or who else might deserve a spot on the list or if anyone seems displaced. Till then! :)

15 Characters Meme

derekmetaltron — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:37:33 GMT

If you can't beat them... blame lost_spook for this batch of madness To arms, Copy and Paste:

1) Make a list of fifteen characters first, and keep it to yourself for the moment.

2) Ask your f-list to post questions in the comments. For example: "One, nine, and fifteen are chosen by a prophecy to save the world from four. Do they succeed?", "Under what circumstances might five and fourteen fall in love?", "Which character on the list would you most want on your side in a zombie invasion?"

3) After your f-list has stopped asking questions, round them up and answer them using the fifteen characters you selected beforehand, then post them.

I have aimed to pick from a range of characters which I hope half of which you will have at least vaguely heard of. ;) And don't worry, no question is too stupid. Even ones involving naked people chained to fruit cake.

James

Doctor Who Aliens vs Star Trek Aliens Meme Date & Friday Top Ten Lists!

derekmetaltron — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:13:47 GMT

Just as a heads up that I'm (most likely) intending to start the battle between the aliens of Doctor Who and Star Trek on the 1st of March (so it's lasts the whole month effectively). The list hasn't been completely finalised yet so if you have your own sugestions either for specific aliens or villains or there's a match up you've thought of (ignoring the Borg and Cybermen who will be in the final day against each other) drop me an IM or reply on here and I'll see if it fits! :)

Also experimenting with the idea of doing a top ten list every Friday of things which interest me including Doctor Who, Star Trek, Star Wars, Marvel, DC, X-Files, Downton Abbey, 24, LOST and umpteen other possible things which I like or am getting gradually into somehow or other. This Friday will most likely be... Top Ten DC/Marvel Crossovers Which Haven't Happened Yet I'd Like to See! Ones in the future could include my fav Doctor/Companion moments, favourite X-Files I've seen so far, favourite LOST bits or the like. If there's a top ten you'd like to see in the catagories I mentioned above give me an IM or reply here!

On Life, Star Trek TNG/Doctor Who Comic Mini Series and Upcoming Meme

derekmetaltron — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:08:28 GMT

Ok, James here, first up I'm sorry I've been very quiet, work on essays and reports and a general running about has prevented me from commenting on here via my main profile, and in particular doing my once-promised review of the Key to Time. I saw the first story The Ribos Operation and then loved the first two episodes of Pirate Planet but since then have become distracted with many another show. Rest assured that I will review them at some point (not to mention debate whose more mad - Graff Vynda-K or the Pirate Captain!)

I've been trying to get my dad into watching the first season of Sherlock (he loved the two two episodes and now wants me to get Season 2 for him) whilst my mother has tried to get me into Downton Abbey (and succeeded - seen the whole first series and episode 1 of season 2 thus far and I think it's one of the best period dramas I've seen in a good while). So TV wise I've been pretty busy.

In any case, we recently had the awesome news that after years of fanfiction and overall debates on the subject, IDW Comics are writing an epic eight-part crossover comic between Doctor Who and Star Trek: The Next Generation, putting the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory alongside Jean Luc Picard and his Enterprise-D crew as they battle the alliance I never thought we'd ever see together - Cybermen and Borg! WHEEEEEEE!!!! I'm incredibly excited about this (and I can see the collected Graphic Novel going on my Christmas List for the end of the year) but in honour of the occasion, I'm deciding to do a very special Meme!

A while back I mentioned a tribute to numerous villains and monsters in Doctor Who, but now I'm expanding the idea to become 30 Days of pitting Doctor Who and Star Trek's most infamous alien races and villains against each other, with the chance for you to give your own ideas. This should probably start in about a week and a half time as I format the list, it'll go something like this:

The list will feature creatures from across both the Classic and New Doctor Who and the original four Star Treks - TOS, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager.
I'm ignoring Enterprise on account of never having seen any of it outside the first story (so I won't kid myself writing about aliens I don't know) and all 11 of the Star Trek films (including the 2009 reboot) are out on account of them being films - this is a TV vs TV thing.
There will hopefully be a nice divide between eras. I'll ideally be picking aliens people would know over the more obsure ones but the idea to have races which counter each other like the Borg and Cybermen.
I'll be using the following critera for each race - Names, Images, Bio, What To Do If You Meet One, Crowning Moment and Notable Individuals. Once that's done I'll give my own opinion of who I think would come out on top by Brawn, Brains and General Awesomeness. I'll then let anyone comment to give their own opinion.

So that's the lot. Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see in the Meme and until then... Make it GerominSo!

Key To Time Marathon: I've Actually Started!

derekmetaltron — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 00:58:08 GMT

Derek. Mr Metaltron?

Uh? Yes?

Your presence is required.

Oh... kay.

Mr Metaltron, you have been selected to undertake a vitally important task.

Really?

No, not really. But you'll do it anyway. It concerns the Key to Time Season of Doctor Who. Do you know of it?

Well I heard of the myths and legends and Lost Spook keeps telling me to watch it after I finished with Season Twenty-

It is no myth. And you will watch it first.

Ah, well you're the boss Mr White Guardian sir.

It consists of six segements, and these segements are collected in a single DVD collection you have owned for months but haven't bothered checking out.

Yyyyyeah, well I was gonna but I just got some new Family Guy...

Hmph. There are times, Mr Metaltron, when the forces in the universe upset the balance to such an extent that it becomes necessary for a Doctor Who fan to stop everything... and watch the Key To Time Season.

All of it?

In order. And possibly the special features too.

Well surely there are plenty of other Doctor Who fans who-

I have chosen you.

Ah. Well I'll get cracking then! Don't suppose I get a Mary Tamn of my own to watch them with me?

...No.

Drat. Well I'll be off then.

One final thing, Mr Metaltron. I am the White Guardian, and to maintain universal balance there is also a Black Guardian.

Uh ah? Will he be trying to stop me watching them then?

No, I simply wanted to use it as a long-winded way of making sure you put your thoughts on the episodes down when you've seen them.

Rrrrrright. Well I'll be going...

Beware the Black-

Oh sprack off!

###

Thoughts on The Ribos Operation will be up in the coming days!

Back and About To be 25 Post! (Plus Belated DW Christmas Special and Belgravia Thoughts)

derekmetaltron — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:32:04 GMT

Well in a couple of hours I shall be a quarter of a century old. Oh er. In any case, I figured I will be attempting once again to utilise my fanfiction and livejournal skills over that of my umpteen dozen RP journals for a period, since I feel in the New Year I want to get back into that frame of mind. I shall hopefully live up to various past promises (watching Key to Time, doing Top Ten Lists, finishing some fanfiction and carrying on my 'Old Who for Nu Who' series.) and the like.

Also there's been something of a little matter of a Doctor Who Christmas Special (as I was away on the 25th I caught the BBC3 28th showing) and an opening episode of Sherlock to talk about...

After something of a slightly disappointing finale to Series 6, the Christmas Special was nothing short of brilliant for me. I was a little worried that it would be spinning every Narnia cliche it could find but in the end the usage was subtle and well fashioned. If Moffatt wanted this to be the most Christmasy story ever I think he succeeded. Claire Skinner's Madge was a superly written motherly character and despite some characters (ie. Bill Bailey and co) being rather pointless, I found the small cast and the children (particularly Holly Earl's Lilly) to be just perfect. The tree creatures were given the previous usage in End of the World surprisingly well crafted - in short, I like how this was a simple, light hearted story - something the Doctor Who Christmas Specials should always be in my opinion. Save the darkness and the horror for the main seasons. And I dare anyone to say they didn't feel incredibly moved by Madge's time travel experience and her saving of her husband. Add the final scene with the Ponds and this was probably my favourite Christmas episode so far. 9/10!

Now, A Scandal in Belgravia. Excellent opening to the second season in my opinion (I became a fan of Sherlock by watching the entire first season last Summer on DVD)! The changes to Irene Adler were extensive yet perfectly fitted her present day lifestyle and I found her to be perfectly cast. Like all Sherlock episodes one needs to keep tabs on all elements and try and keep up, which is the hallmark of a good show most of the time. Martin Freeman continues to be dangerously close to becoming my favourite version of Watson (which 18 months ago I would have considered obscere) whilst Benedict was excellent as ever. The decision this season to have the stories more based on original stories than those of last year's seemed a risky venture to me but with the first episode under wraps I think there's no danger as yet - I remain interested to see what this week's coming episode does to modernise The Hound of the Baskervilles, and of course I'm hoping for an exciting Holmes-Moriarty confrontation once more in the Reichenbach Fall (though I'm sad to think it probably won't involve death defying waterfall incidents like the original). In short I hope Steven and Mark stick to continuing to make this series - the current format proves a long but satifsiying wait. 8/10.

So, here's to 2012 being a more blog-filling year for me, till next time! :)

James

Avengers Fic Tables

derekmetaltron — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:47:13 GMT

Prompts for avengers_tables in light of the upcoming Avengers Movie (and that I enjoy writing for these characters)! We're allowed two character tables and one other prompt table unfinished at any one time:

Character Tables

Tony Stark/Iron Man

trust issues

armor

advantages of money

regrets

smirk

Bruce Banner/Hulk

breathing exercises

inner demons

on the run

heartbeat

instinct

Prompt Tables

Team

featuring Fury	featuring Steve/Captain America	featuring Bruce/the Hulk	featuring Natasha/Black Widow	featuring Tony/Iron Man
featuring Thor/Don Blake	featuring Clint/Hawkeye	interpersonal conflicts	team meeting	mission gone wrong
day off at Avengers Tower	old Avengers meet new Avengers	your typical Thursday	out of uniform	first mission
villains	team bonding exercise	costumes	super powers/special abilities	training
lack of trust	"I've got your back"	learning to work together	dealing with an injury	road trip/vacation

AU_ABC Table - Fantastic Four

derekmetaltron — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:31:53 GMT

And here's another table of AU Goodness for au_abc, this one exclusively on the the Fantastic Four of Marvel Comics:

Apocalypse & Arabian	Bangsian & Bourgeoisie	Celebrities & Cyberpunk	Daemons & Detectives	Eastern & Explorers	Fantasy & Fourth wall
Genderfuck & Gold diggers	History & Hustler	Infinite cycle & Inmates	Jocks & Jossverse	Kidfic & Killed	Legends & Lost world
Military & Mutants	Noir & Normal	Olympians & Outer space	Pirates & Prehistoric	Quest & Quetzalcoatl	Regency & Royalty
~~School &~~ Steampunk	Telepaths & Thieves	Urbanites & Utopia	Vampires & Villains	Western ~~& Wizards~~	Xenogenetic & Xover
Yeomen & Yuppies	Zombies & Zoomorphs	Completed: 2/26

Five Reasons New Who Fans Should Watch... The Curse of Peladon

derekmetaltron — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 23:15:17 GMT

Well today I got a couple of Doctor Who DVD's in the post including Torchwood: Children of Earth, the Fifth Series of Nu Who and something I've been looking forwards to watching again after so long, the Peladon Tales boxset with two great Third Doctor Stories - The Curse of Peladon and its sequel The Monster of Peladon. The former is a particular childhood favourite of mine and it's inspired me to start a new occasional Livejournal post idea - reccomending Classic Series stories for fans who have come in with the New Series to pick up and check out (ideally with as little spoilers as possible)! So without further hesitation this is:

Five Reasons New Who Fans Should Watch... The Curse of Peladon

Reason 1: The Setting of Peladon: Gothic Shakespeare meets Space Opera!

(Artwork Copyright Daryl Joyce)

The Curse of Peladon probably has one of my favourite TARDIS landings ever as in Episode 1, the ship lands on the side of a craggy mountainside, leaning dangerously towards the cliff edge as a terrible storm rages about the grand stonework of a towering citadel. Within the confines of the castle amid flickering torches and mute guardsmen, a young King ponders the question of his planet joining the Galactic Federation, who ~~seek new life and civilizations~~ the delegates of which are considering if this backward world is suitable for the Federation's peaceful charter. Yet some amid King Peladon's council firmly believe the aliens will mean the removal of ancient, holy practices scared to the law of Peladon. Chief amongst them being the royal beast, the mighty Aggedor...

Reason 2: The Ice Warriors are in it! (What do you mean, who are they?!)

Last appearing as dangerous enemies of Earth in the late 21st century against the Second Doctor in The Seeds of Death, the former inhabitants of Mars make their long-awaited return in The Curse of Peladon as the Martian Ambassador Lord Izylr and his fellow Ice Warrior brother Ssorg. They claim to be here to help the transition for Peladon to the Galactic Federation run smoothly, but as events transpire against this event the Doctor must question if the Ice Warriors can be considered friend or foe...

Whilst not in the same level of Who Monsters as the Daleks or Cybermen the Ice Warriors nevertheless are great aliens which protrayed properly and Curse is certainly one of their finest hours.

Reason 3: Jo Grant gets to be awesome... and has Patrick Troughton's son fancying her!

While Josephine Grant of UNIT is always one of the best companions the Doctor has had over the years for her inner bravery, desire to stand up to what's right and ability to help with problems when it really counts, The Curse of Peladon has to be one of her better outings. Dressed up for a night with UNIT Soldier Mike Yates is called off as she finds herself having to help the Doctor solve the mystery behind Peladon's entry to the Federation and the forces who wish to prevent it. From scrambling over rocks to sneaking about the dim passages, Jo still manages to win the heart of Peladon's royal king, played by David Troughton. You might know him as Professor Hobbes in Midnight, but he is also of course the son of Second Doctor Patrick Troughton and makes his own first major appearance (a brief appearance in Enemy of the World with his father aside) in Doctor Who here as King Peladon. Jo and he get to share some sweet moments in the four episodes, though there's also some lovely reporte with the Doctor, demonstrating how this happens to be one of the better TARDIS teams in the Classic show.

Reason 4: Alpha Centauri: Coolest nice alien ever?

Well my six year old self liked to think so! The Curse of Peladon gets some interesting alien races appearing which if you look past the possibly dated designs are still nonetheless well done! Chief amongst them for me is Alpha Centauri who appears in both Peladon stories. It happens to be, as the Doctor puts it, 'a hermaphroditic hexopod' from the planet... erm, Alpha Centauri. The squeaky voice might seem amusing but all the same I find Alpha's design to be a highly thought out one for the time and he/she becomes a important character and friend to the Doctor in both Peladon adventures.

Reason 5: It's simply one of Classic Who's Finest Hours!

(Artwork from theruedmorgue.blogspot.com)

The Curse of Peladon is great because of many things - it's the first major off-world adventure for the Doctor in some time after being confined to Earth by the Time Lords. It's a interesting blend of gothic and future elements with the idea of having a medieval-like world in the far future. It's the return of the Ice Warriors together with a host of new alien races in a mystery story for the Doctor to investigate, and it features a number of twists and at its heart a well-crafted tale of twists and turns. Best of all this is a very easy adventure for a New Series viewer who is curious about the Third Doctor era to watch because it is perfectly self-contained and introduces you to the much beloved Three and Jo TARDIS crew. So be sure to give The Curse of Peladon a try!

###

So that's it for this installment! In the comments below, be sure to leave your thoughts on Curse of Peladon, whether if you have already seen it (and want to add your own reasons why you like it or not) or will do after reading this (and if you do also let me know what you thought of it!) Thanks for reading! :)

Drabble: Spare Me A Tune

derekmetaltron — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:27:07 GMT

Title: Spare Me A Tune
Rating: G
Word Count: 350 Words
Characters: Second Doctor, Ben, Polly
Warnings: None
Summary: Inspired by the present picture for Music - The Second Doctor begins his knack for inspiring with his chosen musical instrument. Mild Spoilers for Power of the Daleks, the Second Doctor's first adventure.
Author's Notes: Written for w who_contest drabble Challenge #5: Music.

###

He'd found it just after he'd regenerated in some dusty storage box, and there was something about it which caught his attention. The worn blow holes, the whirling colours on its surface... And whilst he couldn't recall where the Doctor - no, he was the Doctor, try to remember that, yes - where he had got it from, the very fact it caught his new found joyful personality had to mean something. And his travelling Companions - Ben and Polly wasn't it? - no, they weren't sure of him yet, not as he was. They'd trusted the Doctor. Not him. Even though he was... oh dear, his brain was still in a muddle. First try and all that.

So he started playing to ease the tension and he was delighted to find that his lips... they were musical lips. He never recalled being much of a music player before back when he was old and fuddy, but now he could get the notes out just right. And it helped him to think, and remember.

Gallifrey. Susan. Chesterton. Vortis. Aztecs and Nero, Daleks and Cybermen. There it was in a flash as he played his little jig.

"Doctor?" Polly was looking at him with a slight smile. A smile of trust. Not Ben though, have to work on that, he thought as he popped the Recorder into his pocket, his five hundred year old diary held out in an unfamilar hand.

"Yes, I think must have landed for some time. It's time we went for a stroll!"

Polly looked back at him with some dismay. "But... you don't know where we've landed!"

He beamed at the two as he grabbed a fancy hat and opened the TARDIS doors. "Well that's rather the fun of it, isn't it? Now are you two coming or not?"

And they did. And they had an adventure, just like old times. Base under seige, Daleks in the shadows, danger abound.

But he was still the Doctor. He could still win. And if he ever felt a little nervous, he could spare time for a little tune...

New Meme Ideas: 30 Days Of Doctor Who Villains and Top Ten...

derekmetaltron — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:55:47 GMT

Ok, in an aim to utilise my Livejournal a little more with my new followers and the like I have elected to:

Attempt a special themed '30 Days of Doctor Who' Meme, focusing on some of my favourite Whoniverse Villains and Monsters from both the Classic and New Series (and possibly Torchwood and SJA as well), saying who they are, what their best (worst) moments are for them and above all why their evilness is so awesome! Even with 30 days it will be hard to pick amongst the many villains the Whoniverse has given us, and of course it has to be limited to stories I've seen (so in advance you can stop with the 'Where's the Valeyard?' question!). Plus several monsters have seen so many incarnations it's tempting to almost do 30 Days of the Daleks or the Master. So for the purposes of this Meme I'm going to leave the 'Big Three' (Daleks, Cybermen and the Master) to allow me to focus on other baddies who would otherwise get no look in!
Start a weekly or forenightly Top Ten Entry. This will be not essentially confined to Doctor Who and might open up my other fandoms on the journal, such as LOST, Star Wars, Marvel, DC, Dragonball, 24, X-Files - but it'll make for some live journalising! The first of these will be my 'Top ~~Ten~~ Eleven TARDIS Crews', with my favourite TARDIS sets for each era of the Doctor (which is reality I don't favourise anyway, but there's the tough choice between eras you know! Ian or Steven? Sarah or Romana? Wahhhhh!)

If any of you have any suggestions for Villains you'd like to see (the worst that is happen is I'll meekly mention not seeing that story yet - best get to watching The Curse of Fenric soon then!) or any Top Ten tier lists for the fandoms mentioned above, stick them in the comments below! :)

Torchwood: Miracle Day (What I Liked and Didn't Like)

derekmetaltron — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 23:34:23 GMT

Ok, so Miracle Day just finished over here in the UK and I have to say it's been a bit of a mixed bag. So without looking at anyone else's feelings on the series I'm sticking up my gut thoughts upon seeing the final episode.

First off I will say that it got better as the series progressed and more information about the Miracle and its nature was revealed. Most of the characters, in particular the guest stars (Nana Vistor and John De Lancie in the SAME EPISODE?! I was having a Trekgasm!) were top notch. Of all of them though Lauren Ambrose as Jilly Kitzinger was my favourite and I was delighted they kept her alive for future stories cause she's such a fun, evil little character. Gwen and Jack and Rhys were naturally awesome from the word go but I was a little concerned over how the new team mates were going to be - thankfully Rex and Esther were great new members, though they were never going to beat Tosh, Owen and Ianto in my book. Bill Pullman took a while to work for me as Oswald and he never really worked as a 'Christ' figure, but by the season finale he was definitely a developed character for the most part. The new budget gave the show a new feel which I think has helped and hurt it at the same time - it's great to look at but then it doesn't wholly feel like classic Torchwood. Of all the episodes I liked the Immortal Sins episode the most because akward mansex aside, I love stories with flashbacks and there was an ACTUAL ALIEN! Remember those things, Russell? Aliens used to be in Torchwood right?

That being said the series was telling a story in ten episodes which could have easily been done in five ala Children of Earth. In particular several of the earlier episodes could have been condensed into one. I'm also still missing the good old days of Torchwood where nearly every story was self contained, and Cardiff was the backdrop as opposed to umpteen random USA locations which never captured the heart of the old Hub (which I still don't forgive RTD for destroying in COE!) I knew given Torchwood logic as with COE that someone was going to die and I suspected that it would have to be Rex or Esther and I was leaning towards the latter. But while I'll admit that Rex probably feels like he has the more developed personality I was still sorry to see her be the one to go. That slow camera reveal of the various funeral goers is as much genius of Russell as it was me saying 'Oh you b#####d RTD' at the screen. I wouldn't call it Ianto levels of upset (even if I was never much of a Jack/Ianto shipper anyway) but still... I would have liked the whole team to live cause that would have been as much a shock! ;) Also, the blood and gore in this series has been... well gruelsome. I'm hearing that the US version might have been worse so if that's true, yikes. I'm quite repulsed at the sight of blood so as you can imagine I was getting pretty grossed out when Jack and Rex were giving there's rather graphically.

In summary - I'm not certain if Miracle Day would have worked better to be like Children of Earth and have a smaller amount of episodes in a whole week as opposed to weekly (which meant the narfer stuff got dragged out). The guest list was good but the actual episodes ranged from good to plodding. Gwen was awesome, Jack was awesome, there should have been Rhys but I'm glad they didn't kill him, Rex is immortal and Lilly is back in the game - colour me interested. For Series 5 if it happens though Russell - PLEASE have single stories as opposed to one big one. There is nothing wrong with having the Family return as the villains but I would love to let the new team (along with whoever else gets drafted in) have seperate adventures with aliens. Like the old days. I liked those.

Anyway, maybe I'll think of some more stuff once I've read other people's opinions but that's my unbias feelings right now. But hopefully Doctor Who will be more light hearted this Saturday and give me a chance to forget the more macarbe parts of this Torchwood. In the meantime I've elected to finally order Torchwood: Children of Earth (so I can watch it again and see how it compared to this current season), Series Five of Doctor Who (which has been grossly over-price till now, but I fancy watching Matt Smith's first season again soon) and also the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie (so I can gather if I like it enough to start watching the Clone Wars series at last). I'm also thinking on here of doing something similar to this for Season Six of DW once the last episode finishes, not to mention my top ten Amy/Rory moments so far. Let me know what you think about all of that then. ;)

Writer's Block: 9/11

derekmetaltron — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 08:24:10 GMT

I was finishing off one of my first days at GCSE school when my dad told me the news, and I can remember not believing it was possible at first as we drove home and had the news on. My mum told me she'd had the God Channel on earlier in the day and someone was actually warning that something like this was going to happen. In any case, I wish all those affected by 9/11 heartfelt thoughts on this day.

New Introductions and Journal Aims

derekmetaltron — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 22:17:11 GMT

First up a quick intro for those who may have just friended me via ontd_who, my name is James, I'm 24 from the East Midlands and am presently in a sort of search for work come consideration for post-graduateness. I have something of an healthy or unhealthy (depending on the stand point) love of all things Doctor Who, as well as Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel Comics, PS3 Games and the like. In the past few months I've been distracted from using my main journal page via RPG's, holidays, work hunting and mere forgetfulness, but this may or may not change as of now.

To motivate myself I'm going to try and do some of the following:

Attempt to put up a Journal Entry at least once a week, twice if possible. It might make no sense but darn it it'll be useful to do so.
Return to my Classic Series DW Marathon! I promised I'd watch Season 26 and The Key To Time and I'm going to do it!
Aim to improve my fanficing skills and finish stories I have left un-such. Time Switch over on Whofic is one I know I want to try and do.
Take part in LJ meme stuff when I can, plus get one or two of my favourite Communities noticed more.
Talk about Non-Who stuff where I can. It's nice to mix it up.
Create a table for completed and upcoming fiction, more for myself than anything.

Anyway thanks for listening and I'll have more stuff up shortly! :)

James

DW Season Openers vs Season Finales... My thoughts!

derekmetaltron — Fri, 06 May 2011 10:27:41 GMT

(Note: Updated up to Season 10 with 27 and 31 done too!)

After reading this post over at doctorwho I started to consider the question suggested... of the ones I have seen, which seasons have either the better opener or finale when compared to each other? Incidently this is also a rather enbarassing means of realising that there's a lot of great Classic Who you actually haven't seen yet... Hm....

Season 1: An Unearthly Child (AKA 100,000 BC) Vs Reign of Terror

Have seen Unearthly Child but not heard Reign of Terror. An Unearthly Child is a bit of a strange one to be honest because on the one hand it's the very first story and the opening episode establishes this mysterious man and the beginning of the mythos but on the other hand you get Cavemen for the next three episodes and it's... well I never know what to think actually. I do love the more cynical and angry First Doctor for these opening episodes and Barbara and Ian are from the get go wonderful characters. If I was voting just the opening episode I'd rate it as one of the best but the other three sort of toss it down a tad. Daleks which follows is of course rather better for me.

Season 2: Planet of the Giants Vs The Time Meddler

Seen both of these. Time Meddler wins by a clear margin for me although Giants is a good enough tale with a bit of a different feel to the stories which have proceeded it by having a modern story, abeit with a sci-fi twist. Time Meddler is a great little romp though in 1066 with the Monk being one of my fan-fav Who Villains. And Steven and Vicki are a Companion crew I wished had been round for longer because their bickering and friendship always makes me smile.

Season 3: Galaxy 4 Vs The War Machines

Not heard Galaxy 4 but seen the War Machines. I reckon I would be going for War Machines anyway as its a great story which took the risk of returning to modern day and proving it could work with Who, the plot is pretty clever and Ben and Polly are awesome! Plus William gets a lot of great lines and everyone 'digs his fab gear'. Galaxy Four I have seen a brief clip of... it seems... a tad silly. I might change my mind if I heard it though...

Season 4: The Smugglers Vs Evil of the Daleks

Not heard Smugglers and I have only seen the sole episode remaining of Evil on my Lost In Time DVD Boxset. Think I would have definitely gone for Evil anyway though as its the first Victoria story and I'm rather defending of her a companion and what I have seen is brilliant! Perhaps one of the best Dalek stories ever made? I'll have to track down some of the audios for it...

Season 5: Tomb of the Cybermen Vs The Wheel in Space

Have seen Tomb and the two surviving episodes of Wheel. Both Cybermen stories interestingly enough but both quite different. Even though it might be a tad unfair to compare a whole story to just two episodes of another I think I would still go for Tomb as it's almost certainly my favourite Troughton and my favourite Cybermen story (Mind Robber being a very close second). The sets are brilliantly designed, the supporting cast both good and evil are all interesting, I enjoy Victoria having to adjust to her new lifestyle and stop trying to see the world from the viewpoint of a Victorian Girl. Wheel has the first Zoe appearance though and while I have the odd preferance of Victoria over Zoe I do love Wendy's character immensely and what I have seen of her in this story shows it well. But my mind set on Tomb.

Season 6: The Dominators Vs The War Games

Seen both of these! Not too difficult really as War Games is the clear choice and its not just because it's Two's last story! The concept of multiple time zones of Earth's wars is a really interesting idea, we get our first proper look on the Time Lords, we say our farewells to much beloved companions Jamie and Zoe and it's possibly the most epic 'long story still in existence (since Masterplan can only be heard these days). Dominators has... erm, Quarks? I like Quarks but not more than I like War Lords. Sorry Quarks, you shall not be destroying the War Zones today...

Season 7: Spearhead From Space Vs Inferno

Seen both. I reckon this is the first real toughie as these are both Seaon 7's crowning stories. On the one hand we have Three's opening story, the Brigadier and UNIT's role in becoming his serious allies, the introduction of Liz Shaw (who I'm afraid to say I kind of prefer to Jo as Three's companion) and the Autons famously breaking out of those shop windows and gunning people down. Ah, childhood... But on the other hand there's Inferno with a way better parallel universe plot than Rise of The Cybermen, hissing creepy furry monsters from the gases of doom, Brigade Leader Stewart and MIRROR UNIVERSE UNIT! MWHAHAHAHAHAH!

Bah, I can't decide, I like them both! But if I had to pick... gut instinct tells me Inferno. It may well be my favourite Third Doctor story. But Spearhead is very close behind it!

Season 8: Terror of the Autons Vs The Daemons

Only seen Terror. I know, not seeing Dameons is probably blasphemy given its status as a great Who story, and I will someday I'm sure. Terror is probably a weaker story than Spearhead for the Autons but the introuductions of the Master and Jo Grant do steal the show! Evil dowls, tissue compression guns, chairs which eat you and dafodils which choke you... gotta love those family friendly Autons! ;)

Season 9: Day of the Daleks Vs The Time Monster

Only seen Day. I wouldn't say I'm so worried about seeing Time Monster over that of Daemons, though I'm curious about seeing the Master (sort of) falling in love with a Atlantian lady. Day of the Daleks is kind of hit and miss for me - it has the Daleks returning and a fun time travel plot and the Orgons are cool. But I'm not sure how well its aged. I may need to pick it up on DVD later this year and give it a whirl. Given they're updating the Dalek voices it might make the story a little better to watch.

Season 10: The Three Doctors Vs The Green Death

Seen both. Again, another toughie as both of these are good stories. Three Doctors is a cracking Anniversary Special and I love the Second Doctor running about again in the TARDIS with UNIT! Plus Omega is a fan-fav villain of mine who I kind of wonder might not come back one day from that Anti-Matter Universe of his. But despite all that I think I'll go for Green Death, it has more going for it really - the Giant Maggots terrified my little sister, it's Jo's last story (Awwwww....) UNIT are at their best and the BOSS is an even bigger fan-fav villain of mine! Plus it has the environmental message running through it and I like that. Loses points for some aged FX shots and probably being the worst offender for UNIT dating issues, but I think it's Green Death for the Win here!

Season 11: The Time Warrior Vs Planet of the Spiders

Only seen Spiders. (Rest up soon!)

Season 12: Robot Vs Revenge of the Cybermen

Seen both. (Rest up soon!)

Season 13: Terror of the Zygons Vs The Seeds of Doom

Not seen either, what the heck is wrong with me?! These are both supposed to be great Four/Sarah stories....

Season 14: The Masque of Mandragora Vs The Talons of Weng-Chiang

Again, not seen either. For someone who plays Four in RPG's I really need to watch some more of his stories...

Season 15: The Horror of Fang Rock Vs The Invasion of Time

Erm... Not seen either?

Season 16: The Ribos Operation Vs The Armageddon Factor

Ok, I'm getting to them alright?!

Season 17: Destiny of the Daleks Vs The Horns of Nimon

Oh thank the Lord, I've seen... the former. Probably one of the weaker Dalek stories but I get the impression that even having not seen the latter that Destiny is almost certainly the superior story. (Rest up soon!)

Season 18: The Leisure Hive Vs Logopolis

YAY! I've seen both! (Rest up soon!)

Season 19: Castrovalva Vs Time-Flight

Seen the former but not the latter. (Rest up soon!)

Season 20: Arc of Infinity Vs The King's Demons

Seen the former but not the latter. (Rest up soon!)

Season 21 Warriors of the Deep Vs The Twin Dilemma

Seen the latter. Wish I'd seen the former instead. (Rest up soon!)

Season 22 Attack of the Cybermen Vs Revelation of the Daleks

Seen both! (Rest up soon!)

Season 23 Trial of a Timelord Parts 1-4 (AKA The Mysterious Planet) Vs Trial of a Timelord Parts 13-14 (AKA The Ultimate Foe)

Not seen any of the Trial season bar Mindwarp.

Season 24 Time of the Rani Vs Dragonfire

Not seen either. Sorry Syl, I get to you soon I promise...

Season 25 Rememberance of the Daleks Vs The Greatest Show in the Galaxy

Season 26 Battlefield Vs Survival

Seen the former but not the latter. (Rest up soon!)

Season 27 Rose Vs Bad Wolf\The Parting of the Ways

And from now on I've seen them all! First is Chris' sole season and I have to go for Rose frankly, it's too iconic and easily one of the best season openers since Spearhead (whichif it wasn't going up against Inferno I would have certainly picked). Season One of the new series is pretty consistantly good with the possible exception of Long Game and worked well by introducing the idea of having a central theme running through the series (and to be honest Bad Wolf has never really been topped by any other plot device since in my eyes) . But to the opener and finale. Rose is wise having the companion as the key focus and our eyes into this new version of the Doctor and the pick of the Autons/Nestene as the villains is a great choice! We get our first look at Mickey and Jackie, who with the exception of probably Wilf have never been beaten as the family unit surrounding a companion. Nine from the go is interesting for his switch between humour and sombre moments and gets some great scenes with Rose, probably the best being their 'Turn of the Earth' chat!

Partings of the Ways is also great because it rounds off the story of Nine nicely and I did enjoy the reality tv shows gone insane. But this felt a weaker Dalek story than Rob's Dalek, there's a fair bit of exposition and our first of Rusell 'Timey Whimey' Get Out Clauses which we'll be seeing again in Last of the Time Lords and Journey's End with Rose's 'Bad Wolf' Mode. The regeneration sequence and last moments with Nine are very touching though and I felt despite 13 episodes we knew Nine as well as any of the other Doctors. But I'm going to go with Rose this time.

Season 28 New Earth Vs Army of Ghosts\ Doomsday

(Rest up soon!)

Season 29 Smith and Jones Vs Utopia\ The Sound of Drums\ Last of the Time Lords

(Rest up soon!)

Season 30 Partners in Crime Vs The Stolen Earth\ Journey's End

(Rest up soon!)

Season 31 The Eleventh Hour Vs The Pandorica Opens\ The Big Bang

And for the most recent complete season... These are both pretty good stories but I reckon I'm going with Eleventh Hour as Pandorica didn't quite live up to what I hoped it would be. The Alliance idea was a tad underused and the story makes sure of some confusing (if fun) time travel concept and mechanics. Eleventh Hour however manages to introduce Matt's Doctor and Amy brilliantly with some wonderful scenes between them which resonate throughout the rest of the season and may actually be one of my favourite Post-Regeneration stories (though Spearhead is still probably my favourite). Prisioner Zero is a interesting creation and there's the brilliant 'This Earth is defended speech' at the end which pays tribute so well to the show's legacy. So Eleventh Hour by a bit of a margin.

###

And that's my thoughts! Hope you found them interesting and I'll be sticking up some news about me and the much delayed Watchathon shortly.

Some Sladens Do Ave Em!

derekmetaltron — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 10:04:29 GMT

As proof that Elizabeth Sladen was such a wonderful actress even before playing Sarah Jane Smith, here's a amusing sequence from her appearance on the BBC Comedy Some Mothers Do Ave Em alongside the bumbling Mr Spencer:

Fiction: Last Goodbyes - A Tear, Sarah Jane?

derekmetaltron — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 20:46:02 GMT

In light of the tragic and shocking passing of Elizabeth Sladen and the loss of one of television's most beloved supporting characters, I felt compelled to find something I had yet to put onto Livejournal as fanfiction which features one of my easily favourite Doctor Who Companions, and so I give you this, a piece of work of mine from almost two years ago. Sarah Jane has gone through many adventures with multiple Doctors but this add-on to the events of the Classic Who Adventure The Five Doctors sees her saying her own goodbyes to the Doctor she first travelled with, the Third Doctor - a man I still haven't gotten used to losing after all these years. I like to think it gives justice to her character and that of Jon Pertwee's - RIP, my dear Sarah Jane.

###

Last Goodbyes: A Tear, Sarah Jane?

Characters: Third Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, K9 (Mark III)

Pairings: Three/Sarah

Summary: It isn't every day you get to have a second last goodbye, particularly with someone you learnt to care about. Sarah Jane and the Third Doctor, immediately after 'The Five Doctors', Spoilers for that story and several Three/Sarah stories, plus Sarah's final Classic story 'The Hand of Fear'.

It's odd, she thought when Sarah first entered the TARDIS. Like stepping back into a dream you woke from years ago. It all came flooding back – all the excitement, the terror, the mystery, all the things which come from being around the wonderful man that is the Doctor.

It's wasn't even the TARDIS she'd left. It was the 'TARDIS' TARDIS – not the gothic, secondary room the Doctor had recently been forced to used upon her departure, but the one she remembered right at the beginning, when her life really started to stop making any sense.

As the Doctor – her first Doctor - pressed the required buttons for dematerialisation and Sarah felt the TARDIS enter flight, the memories of an age long since gone for her formed in her mind. Just watching him at the controls was enough to bring a warm smile to her face.

Not that this had been a fun experience for her. Captured by a Mad Time Lord. Forced to play in the games of a long dead one in the charmingly named 'Death Zone'. Holding her breath as she watched carnage unfold between swift machine and cold cyborg. Meeting the Master for the first – and hopefully only – time in her life.

Though there was happy things as well. Reuniting with the Brigadier. Meeting Tegan – a warm, perhaps brash but ultimately friendly woman who seemed suited to the strange, blond haired man in the cricket suit she was only now just realising was a Doctor she had never met. So too must have been the elderly gentleman and the clownish Beetle mopped hair figure her own Doctor seemed to bear a grudge against. Were they the past or future of her particular Doctors, or both? It's a question she expected never to get an answer to.

And best of all – seeing the Doctor again. Even if it wasn't the one who left her – her cases fully packed and ready – in Aberdeen. Which right to the end was typical of the Doctor.

She was stirred from her thoughts as the Doctor finished at the controls and beamed at her with that charming smile she always remembered in this form. "Perfect. Your destination both temporal and locational is fixed, Sarah. Croydon, Earth Date 23rd November, 1983. Now let's see if I can be a bit more precise than that bumbling scarf wielder managed with you last time."

He looked at him amazed. "How... how can you know that Doctor? I mean... that hasn't happened to you yet. I mean, you know all about your next body, but you haven't regenerated.. yet..." A slight welling under her eyelids involuntarily began. She'd suppressed quite well the sight of the Doctor lying on the floor of UNIT HQ, poisoned by the effects of immense radiation to his system from his battle with the Giant Spiders and seemingly in the throes of death.

The Brigadier was used to regeneration, having seen it once before, albeit without seeing the effects himself. She wasn't. Not that she hadn't fallen in time for the new Doctor – so childish and unpredictable, totally unlike the Doctor she had joined UNIT with, after defeating both Lynx the Sontaran and then giant dinosaurs in London, but ultimately still the hero and protector of Earth and the universe.

But now, remembering that incident, and seeing the Doctor right in front of her-

She blinked; he must have seen her distress and moved to her side in the midst of her thoughts. "There there Sarah Jane, you mustn't worry about me so. And in regards to your question..." He put a hand to his mouth, exposing the ring Sarah remembered him wearing, clearly attempting to summarise what she guessed was the typical 'explain temporal physics to a primitive ape' preparation before continuing.

"I'm afraid that went I told you earlier I was simply from the past, I wasn't being entirely correct. Think of me as a memory – a piece of a puzzle, so to speak. I was part of my future self's memories of me. When a Time Lord regenerates, Sarah Jane, a small piece of the previous incarnation is stored deep in the recesses of his mind. So in truth, I don't disappear completely. It's also how I know of my future selves activities. "He suddenly looked up to the ceiling somewhat vacantly, as if accessing knowledge not yet permitted to him. "A man is the sum of his memories, you see... a Time Lord, even more so." The wave of oddness on his face pasted in seconds, and Sarah was received to see him break into a smile again.

"So what... what will happen to you then?" She asked hesitantly.

"Very simple, Sarah Jane. When I am ready to and I have 'dropped you off', to use one of your Earth terms, I will be drawn along with this faux TARDIS back into that Cricket fellow's mind... where I shall, one hopes, remain for good this time."

Sarah wasn't sure what to think. Part of her regretted the fact that the Doctor – her Doctor – would have to sacrifice his physical form merely to become part of the more recent Doctor once more. But another part knew that if he did not, that future Doctor would continue to be incomplete –bereft of his memories.

There was a chime, one which after a moment Sarah remembered to be the sound the TARDIS used to make when it had arrived at its selected destination. She gave something of a short sigh as he turned to the Doctor. "So we're here then."

"Quite."

Sarah glanced at the door as it opened, her street in Corydon visible beyond, sweet wonderful home where no matter how many amazing places she had seen in her lifetime, still ranked as one of her favourite places in the universe.

She looked back at the Doctor.

"Do you want to come and visit? It's very cosy, and Aunt Lavinia won't mind guests-"

The Doctor smiled. "It would be interesting to finally meet her but... I can't strain too far from the TARDIS now. Every second I stay here could prove painful for our dear future fellow if I don't go soon." He seemed genuinely crestfallen and apologetic.

"It sounds unfair...but alright." Sarah turned to go, not sure what to say.

"Of course, I could certainly come to your front door, see you off properly." The Doctor flashed a cheeky smile which Sarah remembered was one of the reasons she loved her Doctors so much – true that her first was far more straight laced and proper than the regeneration which followed, but even her first Doctor had had moments she remembered well enough.

The front porch was as she left it; complete with the BEWARE OF THE DOG sign. Indeed the Doctor told her that barely ten minutes had passed since she'd been scooped up from here into the ominous plains of the Death Zone. Sarah suppressed a laugh. "I was going out at the time. I can't even remember what for now."

The sound of whirrs from the back garden caused the Doctor to look up suddenly... as K9 Mark III moved into view. "The Mistress has returned. Data to possible danger was correct, mistress. Suggest you acknowledge this unit's suggestions in future."

Sarah smiled as she opened the gate and patted K9. "If by that you mean I should be sorry, then I am. Thanks for your help anyway, K9."

"Affirmative Mistress." K9's head whirred upwards to look at the white haired figure. "Greetings Master."

She stared up at the Doctor and then back at K9 in amazement. "You recognise him? Even though he's not...?"

"All teeth and curls, Sarah Jane?" The Doctor flashed an amused grin. "Nice to meet you K9. I see my future selves make company with some interesting characters." He then glanced back at the TARDIS before looking back at Sarah with a concerned sigh. "I really must go now. I'm sorry Sarah, I really am."

She nodded, understanding. "I will miss you, Doctor. I always have." Once more she strove not to cry in front of him, but the Doctor understood and pulled her in a warm embrace.

As he turned to go, a question she had wanted for years formed on her lips. "Doctor?"

"Hm, yes Sarah?" He had stopped just at the TARDIS doors but was still in earshot.

"When you were regenerating after the whole thing on Metebelis 3, you started to say something to me. Do you remember?"

He nodded curtly. "Of course, yes. I said... 'A tear, Sarah Jane? Where's there's life, there's...' and then I was gone, I suppose."

Sarah straightened, looking directly into his eyes. "How was that sentence supposed to end, Doctor?"

He gave one last warm smile. "Hope. Where there's life, there's always hope. If you want to remember me any way, Sarah Jane, hope is what I would go for."

He started to shut the door, but Sarah shouted out to him one last time. "Doctor, do you think I'll ever see you again?"

"Well you never know. The universe has a funny habit of repeating itself. Goodbye Sarah Jane... K9." And with that he shut the door tight.

She watched as the TARDIS whirred into life, grinding and wheezing as it finally shot into the sky, gone from sight.

Sarah gave a long sigh, before he turned back to the house and K9. "Right then K9, come on. We've got work to do." And she resolved to get on with the rest of her life, but never to forget the Doctor.

Because she would see him again... one day.

THE END

###

Elizabeth Sladen RIP: 1948 - 2011

Drabble 365 Days Table - Marvel Comics

derekmetaltron — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 22:15:37 GMT

As If I wasn't insane enough with the number of unfinished tables I have I've taken a fifth for the Marvel Universe for drabble365days . Truly I am mad. But they're drabbles from 100-300 words and I only have to do 100 out of 365 prompts so this shouldn't be impossible to try and write!

1	2	3	4	5
Moonlight	If Only	Defining Moment	Forest	Everybody Lies
6	7	8	9	10
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
11	12	13	14	15
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
16	17	18	19	20
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
21	22	23	24	25
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
26	27	28	29	30
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
31	32	33	34	35
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
36	37	38	39	40
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
41	42	43	44	45
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
46	47	48	49	50
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
51	52	53	54	55
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
56	57	58	59	60
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
61	61	63	64	65
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
66	67	68	69	70
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
71	72	73	74	75
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
76	77	78	79	80
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
81	82	83	84	85
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
86	87	88	89	90
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
91	92	93	94	95
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme
96	97	98	99	100
Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme	Theme

Alas, Poor Yeti, I Knew Ye Well...

derekmetaltron — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 23:23:24 GMT

Ever wondered what it would be like if Jamie and Victoria (which I often tout as one of my favourite Classic Who Pairings) were in Skakespeare's Romeo and Juliet? No, neither did I but it's the amusing result of what I got from seeing wander_realtai use this Drabble Generator found here. I wasn't expecting this result since it is so different from her own yet it is suprisingly interesting to read. The odd word might not make sense, probably due to the fact that half the time I think I actually forget what an abjective is. ;) But with without further Ado (about nothing), here is William Shakespeare lost masterpiece... Jamie and Victoria!

###

Jamie and Victoria
by William Shakespeare

Enter Jamie

Victoria appears above at a window

Jamie:
But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the cup, and Victoria is the horse.
Arise, positively horse, and poke the irritated spoon.
See, how she leans her head upon her arm!
O, that I were a glove upon that arm,
That I might touch that head!

Victoria:
O Jamie, Jamie! wherefore art thou Jamie?
What's in a name? That which we call a foot
By any other name would smell as dazzling
Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say "like the rising sun whose first rays appear most beautiful."
And I will take thy word; yet if thou swear'st,
Thou mayst prove forceful.

Jamie:
Lady, by yonder irritated spoon I swear
That tips on a chair the uncertain saucer--

Victoria:
O, swear not by the spoon, the mysterious spoon,
That carefully changes in its colourful orb,
Lest that thy love prove likewise colourful.
Sweet, expectant night! A thousand times expectant night!
Parting is such strange sorrow,
That I shall say expectant night till it be morrow.

Exit above

Jamie:
Sleep dwell upon thy head, peace in thine arm!
Would I were sleep and peace, so akwardly to rest!
sweetly will I to my positively foot's cell,
Its help to poke, and my dazzling foot to tell.

Writer's Block: A super debate

derekmetaltron — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 23:11:16 GMT

A comic question - can never not answer those! Tough call really as both have some interesting powers. But if I have to pick I reckon I'd go for Spider-Man, because web-swinging through New York looks fun, he's got a cooler rogues gallery, you're married to Mary Jane Waston (when you're not making devilish deals to undo all that), you get to hang out with the Avengers, Fantastic Fou- No wait, Future Foundation now (poor Johnny Storm) and the X-Men. Granted that Hal Jordon gets to go into Space and has that cool ring, but I prefer Spidey. When he's not making deals with Satan anyway. I'd have Spider-Man's powers I think.

Watchathon Winner and Writing Loser

derekmetaltron — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:16:14 GMT

Well the Votes are in for the Watchathon and it's a suprisingly slim lead for Season 26! Since Key to Time came terribly close I have elected to do that next, but expect Battlefield to be viewed (regular or Special Edition version? Curse you 2Entertain for giving me choice!) in the not too distant future (quite possibly tonight).

Also I'm facing the music as far as au_bingo is concerned and electing to cancel my attempts to do a bingo by the end of the month, given that would be four stories remaining. I may elect to try them over the coming months but I guess timed writing exercises aren't that good for me. Besides, I have an RPG and some Marvel related scripts to write for an upcoming Youtube project I'm co-writing, so these should be coming first.

James

MEME TIME! (Inspired by curuchamion)

derekmetaltron — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 19:38:28 GMT

curuchamion inspired this particular idea for a post:

List fifteen of your favorite characters from different series, and ask people to spot patterns in your choices, and if they're so inclined, to draw conclusions about you based on the patterns they've spotted.

I've tried to pick favs from across the board, but you know they'll probably be some Comic and/or TV Show bias in here:

1: Desmond Hume (LOST)
2: Ben Grimm/The Thing (Fantastic Four - Classic Comicverse usually.)
3: Soild Snake (Metal Gear Solid)
4: Postman Pat (BBC - A childhood 'hero' of mine.)
5: Toshiko Sato (Torchwood)
6: Vegeta (Dragonball Z)
7: Boba Fett (Star Wars)
8: Sarah Jane Smith (Doctor Who/Sarah Jane Adventures)
9: Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice, particularly the 90's BBC Series version)
10: Doctor Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus (Spider-Man - Any version: Classic Marvel, Ultimate and Alfred Molina's takes on the character are all great.)
11: Seven Of Nine (Star Trek Voyager)
12: Katherine Pryde/Shadowcat (X-Men Comicverse or X-Men Evolution cartoon)
13: The Fifth Doctor (Doctor Who)
14: Ben Linus (LOST)
15: Two-Face/Harvey Dent (Batman - Any Incarnation, though I like the Nolan and 90's Animated Series versions)

Those are all off the top of my head - these shows or comics are all ones I'm fond of really.

Derek's Classic Doctor Who's What To Watchathon?

derekmetaltron — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 11:01:08 GMT

Ok fellow Whovians - I need your help as to what to see. You see I claim on the whole to be a well rounded Who-Boy who is fond of all Doctors and all era, but I have yet to watch several of what are considered Who's finest hours (and maybe not so finest). As a result I am intending to look at the numerous DW DVD's I have acquired over the past few months which I have not had the opportunity to view yet, pick some Season or Theme of stories I have either never seen all or wholly all of and see it from start to finish in however long and sluggish it happens to take me, and then probably stick up a few words on here about how I'm getting on.

BUT I NEED YOUR HELP TO PICK WHAT TO SEE! Because it would be fun that way.

After examining the options I have picked three possibilties, so I need you to choose from the options below:

The Silurians have often been called one of my favourite monsters and despite some bashing by some of their recent return I found myself enjoying The Hungry Earth. That being said I have never actually seen their Classic Who appearances - Doctor Who and The Silurians, The Sea Devils and Warriors of the Deep - so it is possible I could change my mind over that. I have heard the readings of the first and last by Caroline John and Peter Davison though so I do know the overall plot of some. Usefully there's a boxset with all their stories in, so it easy enough to watch them all through, both good and bad.
The Key To Time - a whole season of Tom Baker I've never seen! Plus could Mary Tamn ever replace Lalla Ward as the Romana I grew up with and loved? Probably not, but it would be fun to see all of this set of stories as the Doctor searches for the mysterious Key To Time via the White Guardian. Again this is all in a boxset so it's nice and easy to watch.
Lastly is the Last of Classic Who - all of Season 26 to be precise. Sylvester McCoy is one of those incarnations I'm trying to get into and so I nabbed all of his last season - Battlefield, Ghost Light, The Curse of Fenric and Survival - with Ace over the latter half of last year. Fenric, Light, Morgan, the Master with yellow eyes... I've heard of it but never seen it. Is it time for me to be rrrrrolling the r's? Let me know.

What is the verdict then? Decide down below in the poll and if you can be sure to add a comment and let you know why you've picked the way you have. I'll be deciding over the weekend sometime so let me know by then! :)

View Poll: Classic Who Watchathon

Fantastic Four: 1875

derekmetaltron — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 01:00:38 GMT

Title: Fantastic Four: 1875
Fandom: Fantastic Four (Marvel Comics)
Rating: PG
Prompt(s): S – Steampunk & W – Western for au_abc , Historical: Western for au_bingo .
Summary: “All you’re gonna need to understand stranger is when that freaky ball of fire burns in the sky, the Fantastic Four are riding the trail... and ain’t no man white, brown or red gonna stop ‘em.” Reimagining the first of Marvel’s Silver Age Heroes if they and their enemies had first appeared during the era of the Old West. Features some of the traditional Marvel Western Characters. Answers the prompt of ‘Western’ for both au_abc and au_bingo .

###

“Oh, howdy stranger – didn’t see you come in. The Name’s Willie, Willie Lumpkin. Guess you’d call me the Town’s Postman and communicator in these parts. New to Baxter, are ya? Out from the east? Well I guess you might not know what puts us Baxter folk on the map – got ourselves some real living supermen under our sunny streets: The Fantastic Four.”

“No clue, son? Well you sit there while I dust off the driver for your ere telegram and I’ll tell you their story. Now where I’d put that darn thing... Ah... so, no doubt you’ve heard of some of the super folk we’ve got round here – that ghostly Phantom Rider, the tough Two-Gun Kid, Kid Colt... but these fellow’s, they’re quite a different story."

“Starts with the town’s very own gee-whizz, young Reed Richards. Set up shop here in Baxter two year ago and started building the most gosh-darn stuff you can think of! Mine Carts that power themselves, machines to clean and scrub your clothes without any hand, even started going on about making some kind of metal horse come boxcart to roam about in, even maybe make it float off the ground. Course a lot of folks here called him a crack and a fraud but they soon changed their tune when he gave them the goods. Good man, that young Richards, even before he became like he is now.”

“Here’s what you were after... so, one day young Richards is out saying he’s got some big trip planned to map out the wastes to the north, spews off some talk about some rays from the stars and that it’s gonna change everything... anyhoo, he goes off with a trio of friends of his. There’s Benjamin Grimm, some tough-looking fella from the Bronx of New York, far away. Said to me once he came here on account of trouble from some gang or other back home. Can be a little bit gruff but he has a good heart where most have none at all. Then there was the lovely school-mam, Susannah Storm, together with her younger brother Jonathan. That gal’s really something, teaching all the kids at our local school even now when she has the time. Her brother’s rather different – care-free, always trying to seduce some pretty girl or two for some wild party. Can’t say he’s gotten any better myself. But anyway, Ms Storm had taken a real shine to Mr Richards since he showed up and as more than willing to tag along for some scientific study. With the other two as protection of course. The four of them rode off, and for six weeks we didn’t hear a peep.”

“Then they were back, but by god were they different! Something about those cosmic rays Richards said they found changed them into... into something more than human. Reed looked like he’d gone through the meat grinder, able to stretch that body of his to gosh-darn any length. Mr Grimm was like a real living Frankenstein when we first saw him... hard rock for skin, like the desert had swallowed him up and carved him into some half-finished Adam. Several ladies went and fainted when first they saw him.”

“And then Mr Storm... the local pastor went and called him Satan’s child at first on account he could burst his whole body into infernal flame, and people had heard the stories down south of the Ghostly Phantom Rider who could do the same. And he could fly too – no wings, just a trail of flame behind him. Still gets me every time I see it. And poor Ms Storm... she’d got the power to be like a Ghost in the air; there one minute, gone the next. Soon after the folks started saying she could also make these energy things ya can’t see to shield something... Richards called it a ‘Force Field’ when I asked him about it once.”

“Now at first we were all scared out of our wits, but young Richards said nothing said changed bar themselves – said he was still a member of God’s Earth and he’d had a kind of revelation out there in those wastelands... whoever gave ‘em those powers did it for a reason, and he saw it to be protecting people. Not just us but the whole state, maybe the entire world. Course folks wanted to know what they were needing protecting from, and young Reed told us alright.”

“Out there in the darkness are some creepy folks, both man-made and infernal. Not long after they’d gotten those gifts Reed said they’d fought some manner of demons, led by some cave bound crazy living like a Mole in them mountains. He learnt that there were bad people here in the west – some want that power they have, others just want to take away the values we hold dear. That Mole Man was just the first of many.”

“And ever since, stranger, we’ve been getting those crazies, right on our doorframes. Pointy eared green demons from beyond the heavens who can look like you or me. A man from Siberia who wanted to be as ghostly as poor Susannah and make his travelling circus of monkeys into monsters out in those wastes. Even a gosh-darn dragon controlled by some heathen Alchemist! We get all sorts round here. But so long as we have those four fantastic men and woman to help us, operating out that tower with all the steam coming out of it... see there?... we not got too much to worry about. Mostly.”

“Yes.”

“You finished with that telegram? Good good... you know Reed managed it in the end. Created that strange boxcart of his to get them round the state, when they need to meet up with another of those supermen we get these days. Calls it something like.... oh yeah! The Fantasiwagon! Powered by steam and it hovers right off the ground. No wheels, no rails... incredible.”

“Indeed. Powered by aerial steam-powered anomicals, I would say-”

“What’s that stranger?”

“Oh, nothing. My English is still a little choppy. Here is the message you require, Mr Lumpkin.”

“Great! Well, that’s my story. And all you’re gonna need to understand stranger is when that freaky ball of fire burns in the sky, the Fantastic Four are riding the trail... and ain’t no man white, brown, red or green gonna stop ‘em.”

“We shall see.”

“Hm? Heh, don’t quite recognise the language here-“

“It is a long-distance message to my homeland regarding the business I have to undertake here. For an old... friend. I ask that you sent it to New York where one of my contacts can transmit it more... effectively... than I might here. Thank you for your assistance and the story you have told me. It is most informative.”

“Come quite the distance, have you? Must say I admire that mask of yours, keeps the dust out real nice I bet. Where exactly you hailing from stranger?”

“I come from a land in Eastern Europe. Latveria. And please Mr Lumpkin...

...call me Victor.”

THE BEGINNING

Super Bowl and Movie Mainia!

derekmetaltron — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 22:18:42 GMT

Well the Super Bowl was last weekend. Now as an Englishman I could care less about American Footie but it is an important time for me because as a Movie fan hyped for the Summer, I see the unleasing of Summer trailers at this time to be a major deciding factor in whether I go and see them. Right now there are seven movies I have at least a passing interest in for this summer - as someone who is a bit of a Comic Book Nerd, you might not be surprised to learn that five of those movies are comic related - Thor, Green Lantern, X-Men First Class, Captain America: The First Avenger and Cowboys & Aliens. Of the remaining two - Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides - I am aware that all of these are franchises. Is this becoming a bad thing for movies in general? And of those films I think half at least have a 3D option - also a question of if that is altogether a good thing. Anyway, here's the TV Spots - Green Lantern didn't have one so I use the trailer instead:

1. Thor - May

2. Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides - May

3. Green Lantern - June

4. Transformers: Dark Of The Moon - June

6. Captain America: The First Avenger - July

6. Cowboys & Aliens - July

###

So what are you intending to see film wise this year and why? I'll be sure to let you know what I thought of them when I go to see them (if at all).

Jamesp