Gareth – Page 168 – The Designer Monologues

January 4, 2010April 19, 2010

Russell Davies: Choke on it.

(and no, this isn’t spoiler-blocked — the show has aired in the UK, and it’s aired in the US. Past tense.)

It’s been confirmed in the audio commentary to the End of Time Part 2 that Russell Davies never intended to reveal who the “Woman in White” is — she’s apparently whomever you want her to be.

Russell Davies can Choke on My Fuck.

Comparisons are being made to classic McGuffins like the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. If so, then Rusty needs to be taught what one is — because they’re supposed to be items which are meaningless outside of their role as an incidental plot focus. The classic example given is secret papers in a spy story — what’s on the paper is meaningless; the fact that the characters all want the papers is all that matters.

McGuffins are not characters who perform critical actions to the plot, as the “Woman in White” does. She appears to Wilf (outside of the Time Lock, so she’s obviously more than just a Time Lord, despite appearing with them at the end), prompts him to go searching for the Doctor. She appears again, getting Wilf to get the gun which he will give to the Doctor, critical to the plot resolution. She appears to the Doctor at the end, and it’s his recognition of her which leads him to make the decision to fire, as well as the decision of his target.

But she’s “whomever you want her to be.”

BULLSHIT. That’s nothing more than lazy writing.

So, I guess the true identity of the “Woman in White” is actually RTD’s deus-ex-machina bullshit, personified.

January 3, 2010April 19, 2010

Post-Holidays Update

We headed out at Oh Dark Thirty this morning to get The Minion on her flight back to college — almost didn’t make it in time (she was in the last two or three folks to get on the plane), because we got EVEN MORE SNOW, and the goddamn highway was unplowed. Another 2-3 inches of the stuff, and it’s still flurrying even now. (With more due on Wednesday this week, apparently).

My youngest headed back to Colorado yesterday — and with The Minion now safely back in the Halls of Academia, , Dotta Numba Two and I now segue from the holidays into the usual routine.

Looking forward to the opportunity to perhaps get some viewing of some of my holiday-received DVDs sometime soonish — I got the complete FARSCAPE set (as many of you did, judging from postings I’ve read since XMas), as well as the Peacekeeper Wars sequel miniseries. I also got AFRO SAMURAI: RESURRECTION from The Minion, and Laura completed my collection of all seasons of BABYLON 5 with the 5th, so now a re-watching of that show can commence.

Recent viewing has been of the downloaded UK Television variety, including the final episodes of David Tennant’s run on DOCTOR WHO.

Non-spoiler review — don’t expect a coherent story that even bothers to answer in Part Two any of the questions that it raises in Part One. Do expect an overdose of sentiment and schmaltz, which severely tested the tolerance of even fans of the 10th Doctor like us. Pure ~~fanwank~~ WriterWank, with plot holes the size of reality itself left gaping in favor of misty-eyed farewells.

Russell T. Davies deserves immense amounts of credit for bringing DOCTOR WHO back and making it a huge worldwide hit. He is also, bluntly, absolute shit as a crafter of stories. His works are essentially “tone poems” — where the “Feel” is far more important to him than any sense of a tale being told. I am very, very relieved that he is being replaced as showrunner and head writer by the man responsible for the best, most award-winning episodes of the revived show.

Will Moffat disappoint? Of course — I’m expecting the occasional clunker. But I at least expect clunkers that make an effort towards coherent drama, rather than the fuzzy sparkly magical incoherence of RTDs stuff.

December 31, 2009

New Year’s Eve

Thinking about endings.

Yes, yes, I know — there is no “year zero”, so 2010 is technically the end of the decade, not 2009. Same argument that got trotted out in 1999. To which I say bullshit, for three reasons:

1) The whole Western dating system is arbitrary as fuck anyway. (I’m looking at you, Adoption of the Gregorian Calendar…)

2) No, there was no “year zero”, but last I checked, we lived through 365 days in 2000, which makes 2009 the tenth year of the decade.

3) There’s no way you’re going to convince me that 1980 was part of the 70s.

Anyway — I have to say that I’m extremely happy to see the ass-end of the “Aughts” or whatever-the-hell-we’ll-end-up-calling-them. It was, all told, a fucking gallstone of a decade.

With some very notable personal exceptions (marriage to , getting my business off the ground, The Minion’s successful launch into college), it’s been ten years of some pretty bad shit — kicking off with a nasty custody fight, then Bush’s election, 9/11, the all-too-rapid dismantling of my country into something nearly unrecognizable, moving away from NYC, the loss of my Grandmother, financial struggles, Cancer, a growing sense of personal and professional stagnation, the economy kneecapping family and friends, and finally the death of one of my closest friends.

Not exactly the best decade ever. Of the four I’ve had, it’s easily been the worst. I’m very much hoping for better.

I feel like we’ve arrived at a turning point — with the potential for either outcome, really. 2010-2019 could turn out to be the decade when the course was reversed and the promise of the 21st century began to be realized, or it could mark our descent into economic and political meltdown, rife with fanaticism and conflict — the 1930s redux. Personally, despite my nature, I’m hopeful. I feel like things will get better — we just need to shake off the dust of this first decade, and move ahead.

I leave you with the following musical tidbits to mark the day:

The first, I’m happy to report, represents one of my Holy Grails, finally found — a track which some of you may recall I’ve been looking for, for AGES. I suspected that I’d finally find it as the year approached, and I was right. Here is the radio single from the soundtrack to the 1984 film, 2010: The Year We Make Contact, one of the only solo works by the Police guitarist to get radio play: Andy Summers – “2010.”

…and, a track which I still think represents U2 at their very best: U2 – “New Year’s Day.”

Thanks for reading, folks, and have a great 2010.