Friday, July 29, 2011

Stuff for a Friday

I used to have a regular feature on here where I'd just pack a whole whack of little things into one longer post, and usually called it Stuff for a [insert weekday here]. Problem is, with the advent of Facebook, I'm finding I just mention many of those things in my status updates on my page, and then to mention them here again seems redundant. But I want this blog to be more than just a Buffy Rewatch (and a damn fine one at that!) so I'm going to pop this in here!

For the past five years, I've been writing books about Lost. I wrote the first one between my daughter's first and second birthdays (that covered seasons 1 and 2), and season 3 while I was pregnant with my son. I couldn't write one during maternity leave, so I wrote season 4 once I was off mat leave, and it was released in April 2009, followed by season 5 in October 2009 (ugh). And then the season 6 one came out last year. Everyone keeps saying, "So what are you working on now?!" and I tell them I'm taking time off. And yet, despite not having a book to write from 8:30-midnight and every weekend for the past several months, I can't seem to find the time to blog. I'm watching TV, but not blogging on it. Perhaps with the end of Lost I haven't found anything that's intrigued me quite as much. Perhaps it's because my kids are a little older and stay up a little later, so it's not until 9 or so that I'm finding time to watch TV. Maybe it's because I've been trying to spend more time reading books. Or maybe it's just the solitary aspect of it.

But I have SO many blog posts in my head. So rather than mope about the fact that I haven't been able to write them yet, I'll just tell you briefly what they all are. And then maybe some of them will actually get written.

Doctor Who Series 2
I finished watching this a million years ago, and have a whole Word document full of notes for this one. I'm editing a Doctor Who companion guide that will be released next spring, and since I'm about to embark on editing series 2 of that book, I really need to post my thoughts before I know what someone's else's were! In a nutshell, I never thought I'd love another Doctor like Eccleston. But Tennant completely changed that.

Doctor Who Series 3
And yes, I bombed through series 3 in about four days. But because I haven't posted on 2, I couldn't very well go on to 3, now, could I?

Doctor Who Series 4
Do you see how woefully behind I am? Finished this, but because I'm having some trouble getting my hands on the specials, I haven't completely finished off Tennant yet. But I'm an episode or two away from doing so. And after watching Planet of the Dead, which was dead boring, I was put off by it a bit. But I really REALLY will.

If it helps, I'm enough of a Doctor Who nerd now that when I was at Polaris last weekend, I bought a TARDIS pendant and walked around the dealer's room reading every button, T-shirt, and bumper sticker and I TOTALLY got every Doctor Who joke. Yay me! I also almost bought a sonic screwdriver complete with sound effects, but they only had the eleventh Doctor's and I wanted the Tenth's. Yes, I'm in full-on geek mode.

Polaris
Oh right, I was at the Polaris sci-fi fan convention! Lots of fun, I was on a few panels, and sat in on some great chats. Took pictures, have a ton of stories... haven't posted. Sigh.

Fall TV
There are a lot of great-looking shows this year that I plan to watch, and I've already begun plans on which ones I'll blog on more seriously. I hope to post this soon, or at least before the damn season begins!

Buffy Season 8
I finally finished the Season 8 comics and I think part of my brain melted, but I really wanted to post on it. Maybe it's something to wait for until the Rewatch is over and then we move on to it? Nah... I think I'll talk about it sooner.

Movies
I've seen a ton of great movies this summer. But I usually post a quick loved it/hated it status update on FB and leave it at that.

So You Think You Can Dance
I've been addicted to this show for ages, and this season is pretty great. Last week, as I was just saying on FB, the divine Mr. Neil Patrick Harris was the guest judge and he TOTALLY dissed a Tyce Diorio routine. I cannot STAND Tyce so to hear a judge say something other than "Oh Tyce you are so fabulous" was amazing. To hear him say quite the opposite was sublime.

True Blood
I've been watching this all season and it's been a lot of fun. I don't read the books, and I've heard there's a big difference between Book Eric and TV Eric, but I've been enjoying it a lot. And what happened to Jason? Whoa.

Breaking Bad
LOVE THIS SHOW. Everything about it is brilliant. Highly stylized, but not in a way that overshadows the series at all. Superb acting, incredible writing... Aaron Paul was inspired this past week. I just love it.

So much else to talk about, so little time. But I do want to mention that I was very pleased by the positive response my Game of Thrones series of posts got from people. It was nice to do them with someone else, Christopher Lockett, who provided the bookish perspective.

And so, I'm happy to say I'll be doing that with some other shows this fall, joining forces with other bloggers to write posts together where we discuss the new shows. I hope you'll join us!

11 comments:

Quarks said...

I can't wait to read your posts on Doctor Who and the Buffy season 8 comics. I have just finished reading the fifth trade paperback, and am about to order the final three, and I'd be interested to see other people's thoughts about it.

I love Doctor Who, and I'm looking forward to seeing your thoughts on the Tennant seasons, who is probably my favourite Doctor. Having said that, the current season with Matt Smith, Season 6, that we are half way through may well be my favourite season so far.

Also, have you, or do you intend to watch Torchwood? Unfortunately I haven't got around to watching the first 2 seasons on DVD, but I watched the 3rd when it was on TV, and am currently watching the 4th (partly written by Jane Espenson), which is great.

I look forward to reading your posts about these things.

Christina B said...

I also had to have a Tenth sonic screwdriver and couldn't find them at the comic shops. Only Elevens.
So I checked eBay and voila!

I now carry my sonic in my purse everywhere I go. ;)

Yeah, I'm not a geek. ;)

Planet of the Dead was SO boring, but I promise you'll like Waters of Mars better. It's creepy as heck!

Colleen/redeem147 said...

I wish I'd known, Nikki. I could have lent you the specials at Polaris. :( I've got everything so far on DVD (and some of the pre-millenial stories if you're interested - at least one per Doctor.

JavaChick said...

I keep thinking about buying a sonic screwdriver. It may happen yet.

I wish I had been able to keep up with the Buffy rewatch, but I just couldn't, so I certainly understand not having time to blog!

Linda345 said...

I'll put in my 'druthers: I'd love to have a Buffy vs. Lost discussion. For example, I just watched the Buffy finale, and I'm mentally comparing it to Lost's. I'd like to see your posts on that. Otherwise, I'll second the motion made by Quark for Torchwood.

Nikki Stafford said...

Quarks: A couple of weeks ago Space played the first three seasons of Torchwood as a marathon, and I recorded the whole thing, and I'm now recording Miracle Day as it plays, so yes, I do intend to watch it, too! ;)

Erin {pughs' news} said...

I've got the sonic screwdriver of which you speak. It's awesome!

Ambivalentman said...

I'm struggling with "True Blood," Nikki. Every season now there's a "person in captivity" storyline, and this year's, with Jason, has been off-putting. I feel the show has really come off the tracks as it feels the need to create significant story arcs for every character. It reminds me of something a college professor once told me about teaching: "You can either teach a little bit about a lot, or a lot about a little." "True Blood" falls firmly in the former group, as it tries to pack in so much in each episode that it never allows any story to breathe or develop beyond the superficial.

"Breaking Bad," on the other hand, is significantly awesome! I am finding myself becoming as interested in this show as I did about "LOST." It's easily the best written show on TV, and the style and acting sets it apart even more. As a result, I'm wondering if you know of any attempts out there to write an episode guide. The show has proven, especially over the last two episodes, to reference its own history and reveal a bigger, more challenging story.

I still can't get into Dr. Who, but I'll keep trying.

yourblindspot said...

1) RE: Movies - I would like to point out that 'Attack The Block' officially opens in Toronto today at the AMC Yonge & Dundas. It is the most fun I've had in a theater for quite some time, and you simply MUST see it. Not to be missed.

2) RE: Breaking Bad - This show? Holy crap, dude. (Now if I can only get you started on 'Justified'...)

3) RE: The "Team" Blogs - I really, really love this idea. Ideas brewing. Mwa-ha-ha-ha-haaaa.

Also, typing out the sound of diabolical laughter is so much less effective than actual diabolical laughter. Particularly when you exclude the accompanying [rubs hands together just under chin in diabolical anticipation].

Page48 said...

I agree that "Waters of Mars" is a significant upgrade from "Planet of the Dead".

I'm (so far) inclined to prefer Matt Smith's first season to the current season. Eagerly anticipating the back half this fall, though.

I'm also waiting for "Miracle Day" to hit me the way that "Children of Earth" did, although I'm confident that we haven't seen the best of MD yet.

kluu said...

I'm looking forward to the new series 'Grimm'

I'm not sure if I'd rather hear your views on Season Eight until after the rewatch. Ig you blog on it, I'll probably not be able to wait, though.