Cindy's Sci Fi Reviews

Doctor Who Christmas Special (2011) The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe

Cindy — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:02:09 +0000

The good news, the Doctor stops an alien ship from attacking Earth. The bad news, he is on it when it explodes. Somehow he gets a hold of a spacesuit and arrives in 1939 England and is found and helped by a kind lady named Madge (he has the helmet on backwards). Three years later, it is World War II and Madge and her two children, Lily and Cyril, are going to the country for Christmas (possibly longer) since it isn’t safe in London. She had just received news that her husband Reg who is in the RAF was killed while trying to get back to England, but she doesn’t want to tell the children until after Christmas. Who should meet them at their destination than the Doctor, wanting to repay Madge’s kindness to him earlier. At first she isn’t sure about him, but the children like him. He even has a special present which glows. Cyril sneaks in and opens the present – a portal to another dimension. The Doctor and Lily follow and later Madge does. This is supposed to be a safe world, full of trees and glowing lights and snow. Unfortunately, acid rain is coming to at least an area. The lights, or souls, are not happy about this and so they build a tower of wood. Of course that isn’t enough. Not even a metal walker left by three workers Madge runs into is enough. There are two wooden figures that can communicate with the Doctor. They have a circle that will let the souls enter that person who will act as a vessel. Only Cyril is too week and surprisingly so is the Doctor. Lily is stronger but still not strong enough. Only Madge, as a woman with motherly instinct, is strong enough. The souls enter her and part of the tower becomes a ship that is launched into the time vortex. At this point Madge needs to use her feelings of home to guide her back, but that brings up memories of her husband, including when he was killed. The souls are released into the time vortex, and they arrive safely at home. Interestingly enough, Madge also manages to guide her husband back to land as well so he ends up not being killed. The Doctor tries to sneak off, but Madge catches him and when she hears he doesn’t plan on visiting his friends for Christmas she tells him too. So he ends up at Rory and Amy’s doorstep for Christmas after all. He also cries a tear of joy at being with them, probably the first one in a very long time, something that he mentioned earlier is very human.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Season 1

Cindy — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:00:37 +0000

Yep, I finally watched the first season. It was quite enjoyable. The graphics were good enough that usually you could forget you were watching graphics. It seems like they are strung together as mini-news documentaries about the Clone Wars. They also have a saying at the beginning of each episode. There are some arcs, but not all the stories are directly connected together. It is good to see our old friends. Anakin is still reckless, but I can finally see why he was considered such a great leader during this period. Obi-Wan is as cool a customer as ever. One nice aspect is the fact that we get a closer look at some of the other Jedi that we see but that don’t have much screen time in the movies, Jedi like Luminara Unduli, Kit Fisto, and Aayla Secura. Of course we get some time with Yoda, Mace Windu, Padme, C-3PO, R2D2, and Jar Jar Binks. We even get some Grievous action which starts to explain why he is so important in the third movie. Anakin even has a Padawan now, Ashoka. She is a good balance for him. A pity she isn’t around Anakin in the third movie. We also get to know some of the clone troopers, especially Cody and Rex.

And that, really, is the problem with this series. It isn’t a complaint. It is inevitable. Here we are being made to care about all of these people but we know what happens in the third movie, which makes everything that happened there devastatingly tragic. But I think that is rather the point.

Asked & Answered Part 2

Cindy — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 23:06:28 +0000

JMS continues talking about everything. Nothing is off topic in this volume, including politics and religion. Still, most effort is still directed towards answering questions about Babylon 5. He talks about the fans, the five year arc, B5 merchandise, the physics behind B5, and the last days on the show. Perhaps most interestingly, he also talks about the what it was like for him to be the creative producer for B5. All I can say is it is just as well the show was not longer than five years, because I don’t know if anyone could have lasted much longer doing so much.

Asked & Answered Part 1

Cindy — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:07:10 +0000

This begins the five book series compiling the various posts JMS has put up over the years. He talks about everything, but mostly he talks about Babylon 5. In this first volume, he talks about networks, what it is like working for them, how they function, and what an executive producer does. He talks about all the various characters and cast members. He delves a bit into Crusade. He also shares with us some ideas on culture, government, and more that were incorporated into B5. One major point is JMS shares with us some of the beliefs and ideas that he holds. Volume 1 includes a production timeline that goes from The Gathering to The Lost Tales. Very enlightening!

Stargate SG1 Season 1

Cindy — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 04:33:43 +0000

I am so glad I have picked this series up. It is a bit episodic, at least at this point. This is not a criticism per say. I enjoyed Star Trek in several of it’s incarnations back in the day. I speak from the standpoint of having Babylon 5 as my benchmark – a very arc driven show. However, even B5 started slow, and SG1 started pulling some exciting things together for the season finale. And yes, I confess I couldn’t leave it at that. I’ve already seen the first episode of season 2^^; What I love here are the characters. Jack is wonderful as the leader who may need a bit of polishing but has a heart of gold with unexpected depths. Daniel is equally good as a naive nerd with the courage of a lion when standing up for what he believes in. Sam is fun because she isn’t afraid to play with the boys, she’s tough and she’s smart without going overboard into unbelievability. Teal’c is amazingly human for an alien, and yet we never forget he is an alien.

Some favorite things from this season:

Daniel getting the first kiss of the show^^;
Jack standing up for Teal’c and becoming his friend.
Daniel’s house. (I want that many books!)
Thor’s hammer. Too bad they can’t make a portable one.
All the guys getting brainwashed so the ladies have to save the day.
Meeting Teal’c's family.
2 Stargates on Earth!
Jack not believing he and Sam were engaged in an alternate dimension.

Apophis is still out there, ready to make trouble. I can hardly wait to see what kind of trouble our heroes can get into in season 2! One thing is for sure – the Stargate program is getting it’s funding back^^;

Babylon 5: Artifacts from Beyond the Rim

Cindy — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 20:12:36 +0000

This book is amazing. No, it doesn’t have any actual scripts in it. What it does have are other amazing things that were found after all the other books were done. These amazing things include interviews, primarily with JMS from before The Gathering aired to The Legend of the Rangers. It includes interviews with Andreas Katsulas and Richard Biggs, possibly the last ones they did relating to B5. It includes notes for episodes that were never done. We have the original story notes for several episodes, including much of season 5. There are memos and notes for promotions, some of which were never seen. There are notes on the music, again at least one which was never seen. We’ve got Larry DiTillio’s character bible. We have some early artwork, mostly symbols and military patches and such. And we have the short write-up for the B5 movie that was never produced: The Memory of Shadows. Oh, and we get all of the four days of journal JMS actually kept while making B5. If you think your life is busy . . . Once again a must-have for fans!

Doctor Who Christmas Special (2008) The Next Doctor

Cindy — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 22:10:23 +0000

It is Christmas Time again, and we are back in Victorian era. The Doctor is enjoying the festive atmosphere when someone calls out for the Doctor. Much to his surprise, another person shows up responding to that name, complete with a companion, Rosita. Failing to capture their quarry, the Doctor questions this other gentleman who at first glance seems to be a later incarnation of the Doctor. Only one problem – he is missing many crucial memories. The one thing this other Doctor is certain of is that the Cybermen did something. Indeed, the Cybermen are up to no good, plotting with a local lady to take over things. The two Doctors investigate the house of one of the victims. They see infostamps, Cybermen information storage, and the other Doctor remembers holding it when the Cybermen first attacked. The Cybermen attack now, and the other Doctor uses the infostamp to destroy it. The other Doctor takes our Doctor and Rosita to his Tardis, an air ship. Yep, at this point our Doctor is thinking this guy is not a real Doctor. This is indeed true. The Doctor says the Cyberman were able to get through dimensions while there were larger problems for him to deal with, and the first victim was Jackson Lake and his family. They killed his wife and stole his son before he used the infostamp to escape, but the discharge overwhelmed Jackson’s mind with information about the Doctor. They discover more children being captured. The Doctor returns the infostamp to the Cybermen so they know who the real Doctor is. Jackson uses another infostamp to destroy them. The lady helping the Cybermen is furious and tells them the CyberKing will rise. Jackson says the Cybermen attacked his home, so they investigate and find an underground area where children are being used to crate energy for the CyberKing. The Doctor, Rosita, and Jackson get them out of there. Jackson is relieved to find his son among them. The CyberKing emerges, and the Doctor uses the airship to confront it. He uses the infostamp to make the lady who was helping the Cybermen realize what she has done. She destroys herself and the CyberKing. The Doctor sends them back into the dimensional void before their fall can destroy London. Jackson invites the Doctor to have Christmas dinner with himself and his son.

Doctor Who Series 4 Episodes #12-13

Cindy — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 21:05:30 +0000

The first episode is “The Stolen Earth”. Earth is not where it should be. The people of Earth, including Donna’s Family, Martha, Torchwood, and Sarah Jane, are worried. Oh, and Rose shows up. The Doctor is concerned too, so he takes Donna to the Shadow Proclamation – essentially an interstellar police force. It turns out that Earth is not the only planet missing – there are twenty-seven other planets, moons, etc. missing. Donna remembers how bees were missing last time they were on Earth, and the Doctor tracks the missing planets to a rift. Meanwhile, the Daleks are attacking Earth. They destroy the air-craft ship the Valiant and attack UNIT. It turns out that one Dalek managed to get into the Time Lock where the Time War was being fought and saved the Dalek’s creator Daveros, but at the cost of his sanity. Jack hides in a Torchwood underground bunker with two of his companions. Sarah Jane hides at home with her son. Martha escapes UNIT using transporter technology, and Rose finds Donna’s mother and Wilfred. Former prime minister Harriet Jones contacts them on a hidden channel. They use the channel to contact the Doctor, Sara Jane’s super computer providing the power and Torchwood opening the temporal rift we’ve seen before in London. The Daleks find and kill Harriet Jones, but not before the Doctor gets their signal. Davros traces the signal and has the Daleks attack Torchwood, but not before Jack leaves to find the Doctor. Davros also taunts the Doctor, but that doesn’t stop the Time Lord. The Tardis lands on Earth and Rose rushes to meet the Doctor, but he is shot by a Dalek who is in turn shot by Jack. They get the Doctor inside the Tardis where he begins to regenerate . . .

The second episode is “Journey’s End”. The Doctor manages to channel his regeneration energy into his hand. The Tardis is captured and brought to the Dalek flagship. The Doctor, Rose, and Jack leave the Tardis, but Donna is locked in. Donna touches the jar the hand is in and part of the energy goes into her. When she wakes up, there is another 10th Doctor . . . Jack is shot. Too bad the Daleks don’t know that Jack doesn’t die that easily. He meets up with Jackie and Mickey who have come after Rose and who have already linked up with Sarah Jane. They elude the Daleks and Jack makes some sort of bomb. Back at Torchwood, Jack’s friends hold of the Daleks until a time lock is activated which keeps them safe for the moment. Meanwhile, Martha is at an underground UNIT bunker and contacts three others . . . Rose and the Doctor are captured by the Daleks and brought before Daveros. The Daleks have invented a reality bomb which has the potential to destroy everything. It involves twenty-seven worlds being in perfect alignment. They test it. Then both Jack and his group and Martha call in threatening various sorts of bombs that can disrupt the plan. Too bad the Daleks telaport them to the main room in the flagship with the Doctor. That is when the Tardis appears again. The second Doctor and Donna come out. Daveros blasts them, but that activates the Time Lord knowledge that is now in Donna. She disables the reality bomb, the Daleks, and the Daveros. The two Doctors help her send all the planets back to where they should be. Before they can get Earth back, though, Daveros destroys the machine. It turns out that the crazy Dalek did foresee this, but was so horrified by what the Daleks have done that he decided to allow it. The first Doctor offers to save Daveros, but he refuses. The Doctor destroys the Dalek ships (knowing what they are capable of still) and the Tardis pulls Earth back to where it belongs with the help of Sarah Jane’s supercomputer and the rift in London. The Doctor drops Sarah-Jane off, and Mickey decides to go off with Jack and Martha. The Doctor takes Rose and Jackie back to the alternate dimension and leaves the second Doctor with them. By this time, Donna is becoming overwhelmed by Time Lord knowledge. The Doctor is forced to wipe him from her mind. He returns her to her home, where he warns her mother and Wilfred that she must never remember him.

Doctor Who Series 4 Episodes #10-11

Cindy — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 21:05:20 +0000

The first episode is “Midnight”. The Doctor and Donna are visiting a resort world. Donna decides to stay behind while the Doctor goes out to see a famous waterfall. Things start out normally enough on the tour bus, including the Doctor shorting out the entertainment system as being too annoying. Everyone is chatting happily when en route the bus stops. They call for help, and the Doctor suggests that they raise the radiation shields to see what is going on outside. One of the passengers thinks they see something out there before the shields are lowered again. Then someone starts banging on the bus. The lights go out and when they are back on, they find the pilot’s area is now gone (with the pilot presumably dead) and one of the passengers seems to be possessed. She mimics at first everyone, making the passengers scared, but then she focuses exclusively on the Doctor. There comes a point where she says things first then the Doctor, making the others think the Doctor is possessed. They start thinking they should throw the Doctor out of the airlock. But then the stewardess realizes the passenger is repeating things the Doctor said at the beginning, she realizes the passenger is still possessed and throws herself and the passenger out of the airlock to save the others. It is a much subdued Doctor who is reunited later with Donna. Oh, and at one point we see Rose Tyler trying to get the Doctor’s attention on the screen in the bus. . .

The second episode is “Turn Left”.

In a market, Donna is attracted to a fortune teller. The fortune teller asks about how she met the Doctor. It turns out that there was one point where Donna wanted to turn left for the job at the corporation where she first met the Doctor in the events in “Runaway Bride”. Her mother wanted her to turn right to take a job at a local shop. The fortune teller persuades Donna to turn right. And a giant beetle attaches itself to Donna. The past is rewritten. Donna turns left. So the Doctor ends up killed in the events in “Runaway Bride”. Martha Jones and Sarah Jane Smith are killed on the moon during the events of “Smith and Jones”. The space luxury liner ends up crashing into London, devastating England in the events of “Voyage of the Damned”. The US ends up being the primary target of the little marshmallow-like aliens from “Partners in Crime”. Torchwood sacrifices themselves to save Earth from the poison gas in “Poison Sky”. After each of these events, things keep getting a little worse. Donna also meets Rose, who tells her how important she is and how she can change what has happened. Wilfred (Donna’s grandfather) notices the stars are going out. Donna agrees to go with Rose, who takes her to what remains of UNIT, who have taken apart the Tardis. Donna is shown the beetle on her and they use the technology from the Tardis to send her back in time. Donna must make herself turn left as she originally did, but can’t get there in time, so she steps in front of a truck, causing a traffic jam on the right of where the present day Donna is. This causes Donna to turn left. Rose goes to the other Donna and gives her a message from her for the Doctor. Back in the fortune teller’s tent, the beetle releases Donna and the fortune teller flees. The Doctor finds her and Donna gives him Rose’s message. Bad Wolf. The Doctor rushes back to the Tardis with Donna in tow.

Babylon 5 JMS Scripts – The Movies

Cindy — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 01:58:17 +0000

Yep, we’ve already seen two versions of The Gathering and In the Beginning, but in this book we have the scripts for Thirdspace, The River of Souls, Legend of the Rangers, and Lost Tales. Yep, the only thing missing here is A Call to Arms, and that is as much if not more a product of Crusade. JMS talks about the look of Thirdspace, working with Martin Sheen on A River of Souls, Andreas Katsulas’s last ride as G’Kar in Legend of the Rangers, and why Lost Tales may be the last B5 thing made unless there is proper funding. The Lost Tales script includes the Garibaldi story which was originally planned for but never done. This book also includes photos, a short story written by JMS that was the inspiration for Lockley’s part of Lost Tales, and a few notes on what would have been a B5 theatrical movie about the Telepath War!