I always find it difficult to review TV shows. On one hand, I want to treat them the same way I do with movies: give my opinion on what I just saw, so that people can decide whether or not they want to watch it, without giving away any spoilers. On the other hand, I just want to geek out and start a discussion on what I thought about the show, with full spoilers in it. I can’t decide which to do here with the latest Doctor Who, so I’m doing both: I’ll first review the TV show normally, and then after a gigantic spoiler warning, I’ll put down my thoughts and ramblings on how the ep ended.

In this special, the Doctor ends up on Mars in the year 2059. Without realizing which year it initially is, he stumbles on the Mars colony station Bowie Base One, lead by captain Adelaide Brooke. Of course, trouble is afoot, with one of the crew members being infected by a mysterious life form. The Doctor soon figures out that the events of this day are set in stone and all he can do is watch how it all plays out in front of him…

I didn’t really like the previous two specials (The Next Doctor and Planet of the Dead); in my opinion, they would have been okay as normal episodes in a full season, but they didn’t feel ‘special’ enough for, well, a special. For the first 40 minutes or so, the same goes for The Water of Mars: it feels pretty much like a filler episode. New characters who don’t get enough screen time for you to care about them, a ridiculously unscary monster-of-the-week (they somehow reminded me very much of Muppets) and lots and lots of running.

But then in the final quarter it all sort of comes together: the episode turns unexpectedly dark and leaves you hungering for more. It serves as a great buildup to the Christmas episodes, which (spoiler for those of you who have been living under a rock) will be David Tennant’s final two eps. The end of this episode only makes me realize how much I love Tennant’s Doctor, and I’m really sad to see him go. I’m keeping an open mind about the new guy, but Tennant is the main reason I started watching Doctor Who (I never watched the old series, and I couldn’t get into it when it first re-aired with Eccleston) and I know it won’t be the same without him.

Lindsay Duncan is great as captain Adelaide Brooke, this special’s sort of companion to the Doctor. She’s a strong character, although (like the Doctor) she gets relegated to running around for most of the episode. It’s only in the final minutes that she truly becomes interesting. Also: a mysterious person shows up on your Mars base, when your crew gets infected and you don’t for an instance think this mysterious person might be behind it?!?

As I said before, The Waters of Mars isn’t a great episode, but it’s a brilliant buildup to the finale with David Tennant. Unlike the previous two specials, it has gotten me hooked again to Doctor Who and I can’t wait how this will all end.

And now for the spoilery bit:

SPOILER ALERT * SPOILER ALERT * SPOILER ALERT

I really did like that last quarter of an hour. While the rest of the episode felt a bit flat, I was hooked by those final scenes. In my Watchmen review, I talked about the movie “high” (for lack of a better word) and I also have the same thing with TV shows.

I’ve always had this with most Doctor Who cliffhangers, and the same was with the ending of this episode. If there’s one thing the Doctor Who writers can do well, it’s building up (to be completely honest, most of the time this is then followed by letting us down with a disappointing finale). I know not everyone will agree with me, but I got that TV high while watching those final scenes unfold and was just glued to my screen.

The turning point for me was when the Doctor was just standing there, staring at how everybody else was going to their deaths. The pain on his face of having to see more people die and not being able to do anything about it. I actually cheered when he turned around and decided to help, to defy time and destiny.

In those final scenes the Doctor is going through some massive mood transitions, and as I understood it, that’s all because he’s trying to deal with his impending death. He can feel it coming, just as he sees the death of the Mars colony crew, and he doesn’t want to just stand by and watch. He HAS to do something about it, even though that means going against his own rules of never interfering and changing such an important moment in time. He knows it isn’t right, he knows that he shouldn’t be doing this, and for a brief moment, after Brooke commits suicide, he realizes he has gone too far, but it’s already too late. He’s on his path of battling his impending death, he won’t sit idly by and let it happen to him.

I’m guessing we’ll see the repercussions of these choices in the next episode. I saw that trailer when it came out at ComicCon and I am so excited to see that John Simm is back as the Master. Remember the final episode of season 3? After the Master was burnt on a pyre, a hand picked up his signet ring. We never got to see who that was, but my guess is that will be how the Master comes back now.

I am excited for the final two episodes, but I already have a feeling I know how this will play out: I’ll love the first episode (the one that airs on Christmas) which will end with an awesome cliffhanger. I’ll geek out and theorize and try to figure out what will happen, but ultimately I’ll be disappointed by the terrible finale. Russell Davies is brilliant in writing that build up cliffhanger episode, but the past two seasons’ finales were never as near as awesome as those cliffhangers.

What did you think? Discuss in the comments.

I’ve fallen for these three dresses from Karen Millen, even though my budget won’t allow me to get them (although maybe in the sale…?).

The first one is a simple black wool dress, which I think would look great with the right pair of boots (£135):

The second is wet look jersey dress with an asymmetric neckline and some zipper detail on the front (£135):

The third one is a brown satin dress with fake leather detail at the waist. I love the neckline and sleeves (£165):

Interesting links for October 27th through November 12th:

• 10 Geeky Laws That Should Exist, But Don’t – I agree the most with #1: Munroe’s Law: A person in a geeky argument who can quote xkcd to support his position automatically wins the argument.
• London Underground Tube Station Maps – Maps of the stations underground; I always like figuring out what the best shortcuts etc are.
• How to Win the DARPA Network Challenge – On December 5th DARPA will 'release' 10 huge red balloons over the US, the first person to give the coordinates through from all them will win $40,000. The idea is to use online communication and networks to find the balloons within the 6 hour time frame.
• /Film Goes To Disneyland, Club 33 and the Disney Animation Research Library – Interesting post from /Film about his special behind-the-scenes tour at Disneyland, visiting VIP parts of the theme park, like the "Dream Suite" and Club 33.

I love the BFI IMAX guys! They’ve got another cool screening planned and have again offered me a pair of tickets to give away to my dear readers. And this time it’s for a Batman All-Nighter!

It will take place on Friday 20th November, starting at 23:30. Four movies will be screened: the first two ‘old’ Batman movies from Tim Burton (Batman and Batman Returns) and the two new ones by Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins and The Dark Knight). That means you’ll be in the cinema for over 9 hours…

Yeah, that’s pretty long, but I think it will be completely worth it. I was too young when the Tim Burton Batman movies came out and would love to see them on the big screen. Also I never got to see Batman Begins in a large cinema and, well, IMAX is as large as you can get 🙂

The rules are the same as usual. Leave a comment behind here answering the following question: “Who is your favourite Batman villain?”. Anybody is free to enter, but you must be able to come down to London on that day to enjoy your prize. The competition ends on Sunday 15th 20:00. The winner will be contacted later that day.

I’ve already arranged my tickets to go and it would be great to see some readers there. There are still tickets available on the BFI website for £26 per person (£16 for students, £18 for concessions).

I’ve been keeping an eye on the upcoming movie Kick-Ass, based on the comic book series from Mark Millar. While I still haven’t read the comic, I’ve heard great things about it, plus I really did like Wanted and The Ultimates from Millar. It’s written (the screenplay that is, together with Jane Goldman) and directed by Matthew Vaughn, his first movie since Stardust (which I loved, so I hope this will be good). Here’s the plot description according to Wikipedia:

The plot of Kick-Ass concerns a lonely teenage boy, Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), who decides to become a real-life superhero after being inspired by the heroes of comic-books. He soon encounters a mysterious vigilante called Big-Daddy (Nicolas Cage), and his daughter Hit Girl (Chloë Moretz), who are working to bring down the drug baron, Frank D’Amico.

And of course the trailer:

I’m not convinced yet, but I am hoping this will turn out great. The trailer reminds me a bit of Condorman, which (depending on who you ask) could be a bad or a good sign. I’m also concerned about Nicholas Cage; when was the last time he made a good movie?

What do you think? Good or bad?

Via Firstshowing

I’ve been slowly dipping into iPhone app development and I stumbled on this cute notepad block:

Would be brilliant if you’re designing iPhone apps, right? It’s available as a 3-pack for $17.95 on the Notepad website.

Via Swiss Miss

I’ve been doubtful of this remake ever since I first heard of it. A remake of The A-Team? Seriously? Why? I loved the show as a kid, and it just seems such an unnecessary remake to, well, remake. And then the first casting rumours were released: Liam Neeson as Hannibal? He’s a great actor, but I can’t picture him as Hannibal. It just seems… wrong.

Other castings were Bradley Cooper as Lt. Templeton ‘Faceman’ Peck, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson as Sgt Bosco ‘B.A.’ Baracus and Sharlto Copley as Capt. ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock. Hmm, Bradley Cooper. Could work, but not as clean or slick as I always imagined Face to be. The other two? Haven’t seen either of them in movies (yeah, I still have to go see District 9), so can’t really say much about them.

The first official photo was released last week though, and we finally get to see our characters for the first time:

Interesting. I’m liking Rampage as B.A. (although I’ll can’t be convinced before he opens his mouth) and Sharlto Copley as Murdock. Bradley Cooper still on a “could work” for me, but with slightly better odds. Liam Neeson… I know people like how bad ass he looks, and some think he’s got the Hannibal look down. But for me? I’m still not feeling it. A part of me hopes I’m wrong and I’ll await further judgment until I see footage/trailer, but so far I’m just preparing myself to be disappointed.

Via /Film

Every year my family does a sort of Secret Santa. It’s slightly different, more similar to the Dutch tradition of ‘surprises’ (which you pronounce the Dutch way: so soo-pree-sez). I’ll blog about that more when the Christmas season really starts.

For now, I wanted to share with you two cool things I’ll be participating in this Christmas:

The first is a Secret Santa for the book blogging community and its readers. Each person has to get a book for someone else. Cool, right? I know it will be even trickier getting something for someone you don’t know than someone you do, but it sounds like it could be great fun! Check out the details on The Neverending Shelf.

The second is similar: the Book Blogger Holiday Swap. I wasn’t really sure if I should enter or not; I do write a lot about books, but also about loads of other stuff. Still, it sounds like a great idea, and it would be brilliant to surprise someone on the other side of the world with some cute gifts!

Yesterday it was announced that the Terminator franchise rights are up for sale, and now Joss Whedon has written a hilarious letter to the franchise owners to buy the rights for $10,000. The piece is just so funny I had to repost it here (you can find the original on Whedonesque):

An Open Letter to the Terminator Owners. From a Very Important Hollywood Mogul

Dear Sirs/Ma’ams,

I am Joss Whedon, the mastermind behind Titan A.E., Parenthood (not the movie) (or the new series) (or the one where ‘hood’ was capitalized ’cause it was a pun), and myriad other legendary tales. I have heard through the ‘grapevine’ that the Terminator franchise is for sale, and I am prepared to make a pre-emptive bid RIGHT NOW to wrap this dealio up. This is not a joke, this is not a scam, this is not available on TV. I will write a check TODAY for $10,000, and viola! Terminator off your hands.

No, you didn’t miscount. That’s four — FOUR! — zeroes after that one. That’s to show you I mean business. And I mean show business. Nikki Finke says the Terminator concept is played. Well, here’s what I have to say to Nikki Finke: you are a fine journalist and please don’t ever notice me. The Terminator story is as formative and important in our culture — and my pretend play — as any I can think of. It’s far from over. And before you Terminator-Owners (I have trouble remembering names) rush to cash that sweet cheque, let me give you a taste of what I could do with that franchise:

1) Terminator… of the Rings! Yeah, what if he time-travelled TOO far… back to when there was dragons and wizards? (I think it was the Dark Ages.) Hasta La Vista, Boramir! Cool, huh? “Now you gonna be Gandalf the Red!” RRRRIP! But then he totally helps, because he’s a cyborg and he doesn’t give a s#&% about the ring — it has no power over him! And he can carry it AND Frodo AND Sam AND f@%& up some orcs while he’s doing it. This stuff just comes to me. I mean it. (I will also offer $10,000 for the Lord of the Rings franchise).

2) More Glau. Hey. There’s a reason they’re called “Summer” movies.

3) Can you say… musical? Well don’t. Even I know that’s an awful idea.

4) Christian Bale’s John Connor will get a throat lozenge. This will also help his Batwork (ten grand for that franchise too, btw.)

5) More porn. John Connor never told Kyle Reese this, but his main objective in going to the past was to get some. What if there’s a lot of future-babies that have to be made? Cue wah-wah pedal guitar — and dollar signs!

6) The movies will stop getting less cool.

Okay. There’s more — this brain don’t quit! (though it has occasionally been fired) — but I think you get my drift. I really believe the Terminator franchise has only begun to plumb the depths of questioning the human condition during awesome stunts, and I’d like to shepherd it through the next phase. The money is there, but more importantly, the heart is there. But more importantly, money. Think about it. End this bloody bidding war before it begins, and put the Terminator in the hands of someone who watched the first one more than any other movie in college, including “Song of Norway” (no current franchise offer). Sincerely, Joss Whedon.

Okay, okay, I know, I’ve been really lax in posting trailers lately, and I haven’t done a Trailerrific Thursday for ages! Hopefully I’ll manage to catch up this week, but for now you have to check out this awesome trailer from Prince of Persia.

Prince of Persia was the one of the first computer games I played, and when I heard there would be a movie, I had my fingers crossed that they wouldn’t mess it up. The casting of Jake Gyllenhaal as the prince had me slightly worried, and I’m still not sure whether it would have been smarter to have gone with someone different. He looks the part, but it’s not how I imagined the Prince to be. One thing that has me optimistic though is that the man behind the original game, Jordan Mechner, is also behind the script of this movie (and he was also involved in the fourth Prince of Persia on which this movie is based).

So, here’s the trailer (although there is a way better high quality one on IGN):

It’s feeling a lot like The Mummy meets Pirates of the Caribbean set in Persia. I am liking it, but then, I loved the first installments of The Mummy and Pirates of the Caribbean. I’m a sucker for dusty, period set adventure movies, and Prince of Persia seems straight up that alley.

What do you think? Is it what you imagined a movie version of Prince of Persia would look like? Discuss in the comments.