Thinly Spread

The intensity of work at the back end of the financial year was quite taxing, and a work conference over in Vegas at the start of the month was good for hitting the reset button.

Now I'm just trying to work out how I can stay put.

I've only had one week this month where I haven't spent some portion traveling either interstate or overseas.

Off to Brisbane next week, then another week at home where I'll probably have to do at least a day trip to Canberra, and then two weeks in the US. Then back for a week before I go on a cruise with V to French Polynesia, and then another trip to Brisbane.

It's fortunate I enjoy my job!

Ugh...

Wonderful sets (although not a fan of the remodelled TARDIS), surprisingly good actors, below average writing.

I'm trying to wait til the end of the series to deliver a verdict, but the writing in this current season of Doctor Who is really disappointing. I'd rate it below any other season.

I'm hoping the final four episodes raise the bar...

The End of Time

[ Spoiler Alert! I often avoid spoilers, but in this case if I do that I'll have too little to say! So consider yourself warned: this entry is full of them! ]

I watched the The End of Time Part I (TEoTP1) a few weeks ago.

After the initial viewing of the episode, my net impression was that the Tenth Doctor would meet a less than fitting end in Part II due to the poor writing of Russell T Davies (RTD). This was exacerbated by the contrast of the really great writing/fresh angles explored in The Waters of Mars -- a story which had really started to lift my expectations for the finale.

The only things I liked in TEoTP1 was the arrival of The Doctor in the start (where The Doctor was greeted by the Ood, being told he was essentially late for his own funeral, with the Doctor retorting that he was in no rush) and the cliffhanger (where it is revealed that the Time Lords are behind the sinister narration throughout the story).

Beyond these bookends, if I could use one word to describe my feelings for TEoTP1, I'd say irritation. Mainly because "plot-device-o-rama" might be considered more than one word! The plot device of a cult with no other purpose than resurrecting The Master. Random encounters with Wilf and his merry pensioners. The pointless characters of the Naismith's. The silly plot device of the two scientists who are aliens in disguise (the Vinvocci/Cactii). (And pretty crap aliens at that!)

Beyond plot devices, a few other qualms... RTD often uses in-jokes as a substitute for clever comedy. The other attempts at comedy generally being flat. The portrayal of the Master as a psychotic guy with grandiose plans, but lacking the true criminal genius of previous generations (this due to a lack of imaginative writing -- not acting). And dare I mention, flying around with energy beams coming out of his hands.

Irritating. Constant irritation throughout the episode from scene to scene.

Thanks Russell. Awesome writing. Way to go capitalising on a once in a lifetime opportunity. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Yeah, I was a little irritated by the end of that episode to say the least, fearing the worst for the end of David Tennant's incarnation of the Doctor.

I finished watching the The End of Time Part II (TEoTP2) yesterday.

A really good episode, despite the RTD hallmarks of plot devices and self indulgence. In fact, RTD impressed me with how much he was able to jam into an hour and ten minutes. Highlights included:

• The scene between Tennant and Simm, with the Doctor trying to convince the Master that they could do so much more together, and that seeing (rather than owning) the universe was enough. We've seen this interaction many times, but this was probably the best and most convincing I can remember.
  
  
• The humour in the Cactii's rescue of The Doctor (maybe the best situational comedy of the Tennant/RTD era?)
  
  
• The exchange between The Doctor and Wilf, discussing previous portrayals of the Time Lords vs their role in the final parts of the Time War. And the revelation of the role that the Doctor played.
  
  
• The gun toting Doctor switching his sights between The Master and Rassilon as the gravity of the overarching plot was revealed. Absolutely loved the revelation that the President was Rassilon! (Not to mention, Timothy Dalton played the part beautifully).
  
  
• The eventual regeneration scene. Hilarious!

There were a few annoying moments in TEoTP2 as well:

• Another plot device involving Cactii.
  
  
• The Star Wars derivative moments (Gun Turrets and Mos Eisley). Amusing for a few seconds, but ultimately seems really cheap vs the payoff, especially in a Doctor Who episode. In this case, inferior cover versions...
  
  
• The Nuclear Chamber/Radiation plot device. (A little Wrath of Khan-ish?)
  
  
• That the Doctor could completely control the terms of his regeneration after absorbing so much radiation while claiming his "reward". Might as well have gone and married QE2 while he was at it. (Maybe if he had carried out just one of those tasks and collapsed on the spot...) Obviously the collage brought closure, and some really strong sentimental moments for the writer/actors/fans, but ridiculously self-indulgent. Minimally, there should have been different plot twist that caused the regeneration if this was how the episode was always going to end.

All being said, the good greatly exceeded the bad, and in fact the good moments of TEoTP2 probably provided a decent payoff for the bad moments of the TEoTP1.

But I can't help myself... If this was the first RTD DW story I had ever seen, I might have felt that the writing was rushed, but unfortunately obvious plot devices are present in almost every story he has written. I mean really -- replace the plot devices with good writing, and you could have had a really good three parter! (The problem when you are the chief writer/producer/editor is that lack of checks and balances. Let's call it the George Lucas effect.)

Some final thoughts/comments:

• I sorta liked The Doctor and The Master forging a convenient alliance at the end. While I still think of John Simm's incarnation as a little too dumb (due to the writing), it was a definite improvement compared to the previous Master story. Hopefully Steven Moffat provides an opportunity for John Simm to fulfil the potential we know he has.
  
  
• Who were the two Time Lord conscientious objectors? It seemed like RTD might have been suggesting the woman was his mother (which could feasibly suggest the other -- a male -- was his father)? Or maybe not. Although with references to Star Wars and Star Trek II, why not throw in a Superman-derivative moment? Either way, in an episode that neatly tied off a lot of ends, I love the fact that this thread was left hanging.
  
  
• After watching TEoTP2, I read that everything post-regeneration was written by Steven Moffat. Already off to a good start, as I was laughing my ass off in that Matt Smith ending.
  
  
• RTD has given us a great gift bringing back DW, with some great incarnations as the Ninth and Tenth Doctors. But the next greatest gift is that he's passed the torch while it's still brightly burning after having had a good run. I suspect Moffat will be an even greater steward.

Can't wait for next season!

It's a Wild World...

After getting home from a fairly pleasant dinner/drinks with friends, I was sad to hear Rowland S Howard has passed... (I had no idea he was battling!)

Apart from being the lead guitarist for The Birthday Party, in solo capacity he was a vivid highlight for me at last year's ATP Festival.

Rest in peace, Rowland. ("...tonight we sleep in separate ditches...")

Abuse

I've finally settled in back at home.

I spent most of November trekking around the US -- Phoenix, Philadelphia, Washington DC and New York. Then straight off the plane to an off-site meeting (for work) up on the Central Coast for the first week back.

On my US sojourn I saw some great sites, went to some fantastic sporting events, ate a heck of a lot of food (New York keeps getting better every time I go there in this respect), and spent some quality time with friends and family. An early Thanksgiving with the family in Philly (which took a couple of days of prep) was a highlight.

But man o man, if I needed some diet and exercise before I left for the US, I really need it now. Damn you beer! Fortunately it's summer time!

Looking forward to catching up with folks during a few weeks off over Christmas, as well as getting to plenty of Sydney Festival events in January.

Waters of Mars

Wow... what a pleasant surprise.

The tension and dilemma throughout this episode really made it captivating. A great overarching plot, only occasionally let down by the details (plot devices, "ancient north martian" etc.)

But any negativity would be picky, and not representative of my true and lasting impressions. Considering the absolute crap the last 2 DW specials have been, this episode restores my faith a little, going so far as to say this should be counted as one of the finest of the New Who.

On the strength of this work, it looks like the tenth Doctor might meet a fitting end!

You want it all...

...but you can't have it...

Plex

I've done quite a bit of work on my media center in the brief slots of spare time I've had lately.

Have replaced dodgy hardware (mobo AND power supply) with reliable parts.

Have replaced dodgy OS (Vista) with reliable OS (MacOS).

Have replaced merely competent media center (MCE/VMC) with absolutely brilliant Plex!

I am much, much happier with the setup. Plex is a fork of XBox Media Center. It's MacOS only, and designed to maximise the beauty of a 1080p display.


Plex has a wonderful interface for browsing through your TV or Movies collection, integrating tvdb/imdb (respectively) info and artwork. I must admit I still struggle with the Music interface when I go into Library mode, but the navigation is straightforward when dealing with it as "files".

The only thing missing is native tv recording functionality, but Plex does make it easy to launch a 3rd party app, so I'll sort something out there shortly.

This now means there's only one Windows box left in the house.

But not for long...

Bugger Part 2

Ugh... looks like a motherboard problem for my MCE, which will ultimately require an OS reinstall. Look out Vista, the Angels have spoken.

I'm on a mission from God!

Bugger

My Media Center started to show signs of hardware instability at around Easter. Then, after returning from the US about a week ago, I noticed the thing was coughing and choking, in an "unbootable" state. It's either the CPU, the memory, or the board, but my biggest issue has been finding the time to diagnose/test/fix.

However, with a problem comes opportunity.

There's been a number of things I've been unhappy about under the current Vista set up, and I ponder whether I should redesign the whole shebang. Let's face it: Vista is The Thing That Should Not Be. I've seen various people manage to work around Vista's shortcomings to create an efficient work environment, but anyone who thinks this interface is well designed has their head in the sand.

(It reminds me of the South Park episode where Mr Garrison invents the gyroscopic motion vehicle that puts the airline industry out of business, but has a rather uncomfortable operational shortcoming.)



Anyhoo... I do think Windows continues to be the "easy option" for an underlying OS due to the requirement for an MCE to have a lot of unusual hardware drivers, but my natural UNIX biases are now whispering in my ear from both shoulders.

What tends to give those "angels" even more credence and momentum is that I think the main application -- Vista Media Center -- is merely competent in it's design, but a little frustrating in providing users minimal choice in customisation.

A possibility that has piqued my interest is MediaPortal, a port of XBMC to take advantage of modern hardware, while also allowing to record off a tuner (yay!) I will minimally evaluate this option before I undertake any major changes to the underlying OS.

Anyway, I just need to summon the willpower to start the hardware troubleshooting process...