Okay, let’s just get right down to it: the figures of the first and second Doctors. I was beginning to think, with Character Options reporting major losses and planned cutbacks in new product, that we’d never see these.
Here’s the status report on everyone after a round of doctors’ visits yesterday:
Evan: has pneumonia. This is kind of scary, but the symptoms aren’t screaming worst-case scenario just yet. But it’s bad enough listening to the little guy being a heavy mouth-breather on the baby monitor. Obviously he’s out of day care for a while. He still has an appetite, however, so that’s a good sign; the moment he doesn’t feel like eating, we have a problem. We’re not looking at hospitalizing him…yet.
Evan’s daddy: has a big honkin’ sinus infection and an infection in the left eye. Something got into my eye on Sunday at the farm and I rubbed at it pretty relentlessly on Monday. By Tuesday night, the eye was almost swollen shut, and it still hurt like hell. Apparently these two things got together and made a big mess in the middle, so the infections are related. I’m a mouth breather too right now, a very dehydrated one, and I’m having to put antibiotic eyedrops in every two hours. The problem there: I can’t stand to have anything come into physical contact with my eyes. Opening my eyes underwater? Forget it. Contact lenses? No way. Getting to where I can routinely put these eye drops in has been a sheer-force-of-will thing, because, y’know, I’d like to keep the eye.
Evan’s mom: is pretty frazzled because we both keep getting/staying sick. Sorry, I don’t plan things this way. Given that a month ago I had an upper respiratory infection that threatened to turn into pneumonia, and Evan had a sinus infection, obviously we’re just trading illnesses at this point because he and I are usually all over each other when he gets home from his part days at day care. So I’m having to keep my distance from him, so my wife is having to stay home from work with both of our sick asses.
If there’s a silver lining to any of this, it’s the fact that apparently I haven’t put as much weight back on as I’ve thought – either that or I put it back on and lost it again. Yay me?
Hopefully things will start looking up soon. I hate hearing the little guy feeling bad; and despite that, he’s trying so hard to be his normal happy self. It makes me really self-conscious about feeling too bad about my own predicament. I want to be more like Evan when I grow up.… Read more
I’m not sure what it is, but my reaction to the final 10 episodes of Battlestar Galactica getting started is falling into the category of “Good, let’s get this over with.” Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed the series overall (otherwise I wouldn’t do goofy stuff like this little animation you see running here), and I think it’s a show with great value now and in the future; I forget which magazine it was that nominated Galactica over 24 as the show with the most insightful artistic peek into the national mindset of the Bush (Jr.) years, but I believe that’s a really fair assessment.
Could it be that, as ready as I am to kiss off the Bush years, I’m also ready to see the back of a show that’s epitomized them pretty well?
The funny thing is, my feelings about Lost starting up again are a bit more upbeat, and yet at the same time, there’s still a little bit of “let’s get this over with” there too. Despite its utter lack of spacecraft and robot assassins, Lost strikes me as the more fantastical show; it’s just more “out there,” and – perhaps more importantly – it’s fairly apolitical. The same goes for Doctor Who and its spinoffs; compared to Galactica or even Lost, keeping track of the continuity and backstory of Who is a nearly epic task, but even the newer, more emotionally-involved Doctor Who isn’t quite as taxing as Galactica. I’d cite Babylon 5 as the most direct antecedent of Galactica, and as dark as it went, it still had more of a sense of fun. Galactica has done an outstanding job of laying out its sociopolitical background and developing its cast of characters, leaving us thinking about the disturbing lack of easy answers, and keeping our eyes busy with its visual effects (and Tricia Helfer, who’s kind of a visual effect herself). But for the past couple of seasons, I guess it’s been nagging at me – the question of how entertaining the new Galactica has been. Last night’s beginning of the sprint down the home stretch, which included most of our heroes coming off the rails and descending into an alcoholic stupor or just plain suicide, hammered that question home. Throught-provoking? No question of it. But has it wound up too dark for its own good?
Maybe right now, we need a little bit of escapism. Or maybe I do. Given how I’ve grown to feel about Galactica, the further thought has occurred that I may not be up for Caprica. Let’s see how the new season of Lost – and the gaping lack of Doctor Who and related shows – hit me this year.… Read more
Patrick McGoohan, the creator, writer, frequent director and, oh yeah, star of The Prisoner, died earlier this week at the age of 80. Sadly, McGoohan’s only Emmy wins came from guest shots on – of all things – Columbo, but one has to imagine that he had to be aware that there was massive, if belated, critical acclaim for The Prisoner as well. I was hoping that maybe he could be persuaded to put in a cameo appearance on the new version AMC and Sky One are shooting to air this fall.
I hope that, in all the eulogizing, the man gets his due as not just the actor, but the creator behind the Prisoner as well. It’s fairly well known now that McGoohan devised The Prisoner as a response to the kind of get-off-scot-free, consequence-less adventure of the spy series he was starring in (Danger Man, a.k.a. Secret Agent Man), and in going for the gusto and creating a show that was designed to be a massive mindf#$%, he really secured his spot in the TV history books – in a way, The Prisoner was kind of like the precursor to Burn Notice…after dropping a healthy dose of acid. Shows like Lost and Battlestar Galactica (at least the new one) borrow liberally from The Prisoner’s playbook (J.J. Abrams has, in fact, copped to Lost being an overt valentine to The Prisoner), and respect is due.
There’s something trippy and solidly 1960s about The Prisoner, and yet something timeless as well – any serious student of television as a medium for quality storytelling and social commentary should watch through the entire series at least once.
And it’s also time to bid Ricardo Montalban farewell – Fantasy Island is closed for business. Say what you like about Mr. Montalban or the sort of shows and movies he appeared in, but regardless of what role he was playing, the man just oozed dignity. I don’t ever recall seeing him just phone it in – even if he was appearing in something that seemd a bit lowbrow (the first Naked Gun movie, for example), he found the absolute conviction of the character he played and did not let it go. If he was playing an over-the-top villain, he did not allow that character to be anything less than a force to be reckoned with. You didn’t smirk at the very sight of the man. And sure, while there are a whole raft of cliches that emerge over time with repeat viewing (something that can happen with anyone), or through his abundant commercial spokesperson/voice-over work, there’s never a sense that he was just going through the motions. And you better believe that it’s that absolute conviction in whatever he was doing that kept the man employed in such a variety of roles throughout his life.… Read more
Ah, the joys of parenthood. It’s a wonder sometimes that the whole human race hasn’t been wiped out by germs and viruses – when we have a situation like we have now, where the three of us are handing illnesses around like hot potatoes, I really wonder how the species got this far. Evan’s had a second round of urpiness, Jan’s feeling urpy, and I’ve never really stopped feeling urpy. The only real unexpected part is really trying to figure out who will be the next to lose their lunch. Place your bets now. For breakfast this morning, Evan’s had a chopped-up banana and some Cheerios (minus milk) as finger food, and I’ve let him pace himself on how fast he wanted to put it down. So far, so good – I’m finding that in many cases, taking a bit of a zen approach and letting him choose his own pace is the key to figuring out what’s up with him. And I have yet to see him feed himself so fast that it comes right back up. I know it’ll happen someday, and that I can’t let him graze freely forever, but for right now it’s useful. Me, I’m still down to one meal a day – I just don’t feel like my stomach can handle any more than that. (I tried to eat twice on Saturday, and paid for it rather messily.) But I’ve got this perpetually dizzy/shaky thing going on that makes me suspect I need to be eating more – I feel really disoriented. I’ve been hitting the multivitamins for the first time in ages to compensate. Maybe I should try some banana slices and O’s…
Potentially more troublesome was my wife freaking out, after bringing Evan home from having his chickenpox shot on Tuesday, when I told her I don’t remember ever having chickenpox when I was little. Apparently this is a biggie, because the vaccine was after my time. Evan came home early from day care on Friday with a high fever, which apparently isn’t that uncommon; a few days after getting the shot, kids can run this little fever for 2-4 days. But if he’s got a fever, he’s contagious, and between not having had the vaccine at any point in my life, I’m the most likely target. And according to everything I’ve read, if I’m exposed while my immune system is already distressed (see above week-long bout of urpiness), I’m really screwed. But despite Jan’s efforts to keep me separated from Evan for a couple of days, in the end, if I’m really screwed, I’m already really screwed and we might as well buckle up for the ride (and the medical expenses).
I was watching the Disney Channel’s newfangled CGI-animated take on Winnie the Pooh – you know, the show where Pooh and Tigger are detectives and Christopher Robin is nowhere to be found (what’s up with that?) – and happened to notice in the end credits that the show’s music is by Andy Sturmer. Holy Jellyfish! Though now that I think about it, there is something very Jellyfish…ish…about the show’s music. In a “Bye Bye Bye” / “Ignorance Is Bliss” kind of way. I’m always glad to find out that one of the ex-Jellyfish guys has landed some sweet deal. Sturmer is kind of conspicuous by his absence from the ranks of Jellyfish alumni with burgeoning solo careers, aside from fleeting appearances on the L.E.O. album a few years ago (has it been that long already?), so it’s cool to hear what he’s been doing with his time: sounding like Pooh.
OK, Evan’s just dumped his last few O’s in the floor, put the empty plate on his head like a hat, and taken off into the rest of the house at a run. Looks like the zen approach worked again – I’m glad somebody’s feeling better.… Read more
So a little bitty guy urping 3-4 times in one day wasn’t enough for you? Step up to the new, king-sized Vomitronic 5000…also known as “Evan’s stomach bug finally got daddy.” Put simply, the stomach virus that Evan had on new year’s day pretty much had its way with me.
Be warned, the details of this gastric misadventure are not for the weak of stomach. … Read more
I was amused to run across this post from a year ago, in which I apparently – and I had forgotten this – set working on the PDF DVD and finishing it as a new years’ resolution. Holy crap, I actually kept a new years’ resolution? Put a star on my calendar. Now let’s talk about this year’s resolutions (or lack thereof). … Read more
A few folks seem to be waiting for me to weigh in on the choice of relatively unknwon 26-year-old actor Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor, and I kinda wanted to wait until I’d seen the Doctor Who Confidential episode that introduced him. (By the way, if this episode of DWC doesn’t pull that particular show’s highest rating ever, I’m going to eat the nearest hat.) The interview with him on DWC doesn’t seem to have inspired much confidence in some quarters, but I really don’t think that interview is going to be the best display of what this guy’s bringing to the part. Look at it this way: after going for a dark-horse, one-in-a-zillion audition for one of the most prominent character roles in television, anywhere, you suddenly get the call that you’ve got the part, you get to sign a boatload of contracts (probably including more NDAs than anyone this side of a military covert op), and then you get rushed into a deer-in-the-headlights interview for inclusion in a mini-documentary that’s being slammed together at high speed so the BBC can beat the tabloids at their own game.
I wouldn’t expect to see Matt Smith – or anyone else for that matter – at his best in such a scenario. I do, however, remember seeing him in The Ruby In The Smoke with Billie Piper, and looking back, it may or may not comfort anyone reading this to know that I felt like he “read” older on the screen than he actually was when that was made. The same may also be true with Doctor Who. We just don’t know.
One very significant thing that I took away from the DWC episode is that Steven Moffat (the new showrunner, for whom this is a dream job that I don’t think he’s likely to rush into and screw up) talked at great length about wanting to hire a 40-something actor, and yet he and the other new producer were knocked out by this guy’s audition. If Smith’s audition performance was impressive enough to make an avowed Doctor Who traditionalist like Moffat do an about-face on his casting plans, then isn’t anyone the least bit curious as to what Smith might be bringing to the table? I’m curious to say the least.
It’s a really bold move for the BBC to reveal Smith over a year before we’re going to actually see him in the role; of course, Doctor Who fandom being Doctor Who fandom, this means there are more than 12 months worth of “emo Crispin Glover Doctor” gags to look forward to. Yay? If I had a dime for every time I was uncertain about a new incoming Doctor, or a Doctor I hadn’t seen before…I’d now officially have a dollar.
On a more humorous note, while I was bracing myself for the day when Doctor Who would be younger than me, I wasn’t quite ready for 10 years younger than me – when I was watching The Five Doctors, the eleventh Doctor was in diapers.
Speaking of guys in diapers, Evan spent so much time sleeping today that I was worried. I suppose he’s recovering from the fight his body had to put up against whatever stomach bug bit him on Thursday, but…yeah. I admit, I’d creep into his room and check to make sure he was still breathing. He was sleeping that much. Hopefully it’s all uphill from here; it’s not like him to be lethargic, and he was in a pissy mood all day – I could tell he was bothered by the absence of his own energy.… Read more
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