News on Shuffle – Page 23 – News on Shuffle

Doctor Who – The Big Bang

Lots of stuff happened in part 1 of our 2-part series finale, with lots more left to digest in part 2. Let’s just skip through a quick SPOILER ALERT and get down to it, cause there’s lots to discuss.

We left The Doctor being locked in the Pandorica, which turns out was basically a prison that every other species in the Universe made for him, while lots of other bad things happened simultaneously (TARDIS blowing up, etc). With the fate of the Universe hanging in the balance, the stakes have never been higher than right now. And it’s all up to little Amy Pond to set everything right.

Things I loved about this episode: I loved the opening and slowly seeing what the after effects of last week’s episode were for the rest of the Universe. And I loved all the signs that were left for mini Amy (and having the two Amys meet). I also loved using the complexities of time travel to help solve the problem. And I loved Rory the Robot playing his part in protecting Amy – hell, I loved just having him back in general. And I loved the analogy of “rebooting the Universe” as if it were a computer. Basically I loved everything about this episode. There were moments of fun mixed in with all the tension and pressures of the Big Problem. (example – The fez The Doctor wears for bits of the episode). It was an ending Steven Moffat should be proud of. When River says our solution will make it so The Doctor will never have been born, a part of me was sad and scared (even though I knew there had to be a way to fix it). To be nervous about something even knowing it can’t really be the end, that takes real talent. That is the kind of genius that Steven Moffat has brought to Doctor Who.

Five-star moment of the week – without a doubt it had to be watching The Doctor rewind through his timeline. The moment when we see him talk to Amy from back during The Time of Angels and realize she is the key to keeping him from blinking out of existence for good was possibly one of my top moments in Doctor Who history (and there have been a lot of good moments, you have to admit). Flash to her wedding (which I was really happy to see finally happen) and her remembering The Doctor back into existence and you get one of the best nights with The Doctor ever.

What did you think of the series finale (or the series in general)? Sound off in the comments section below.

Happy Birthday, Summer Glau

News on Shuffle would like to send a Happy Birthday shout-out to Summer Glau. Whedonites such as myself will know her best as River Tam from Firefly/Serenity. She also had a recurring role on Dollhouse as Bennett and was a guest star on an episode of Angel. The birthday nugget for today is a clip of River. Just one of the many examples to show why we loved her so.

Happy Birthday, Jed Whedon

News on Shuffle would like to send a happy birthday shout-out to Jed Whedon, brother of one of our favorite people, Joss Whedon. Jed and Joss worked on Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog together, which won him a Streamy Award for Best Writing of a Comedy Web Series. Jed also worked with Felicia Day on the music video for “Do You Wanna Date My Avatar,” which features the cast of Day’s web series – The Guild. Here it is as our Birthday Nugget for today.

Doctor Who – The Pandorica Opens

Welcome to part 1 of the two part fifth series finale of Doctor Who. It seemed like we had to wait ages for the premiere, and yet we are already wrapping up another great season with The Doctor and his companion. *Here begins Spoil Time, kids*

We certainly started this one off with a bang, seeing the return of both Vincent and River. We also got a lovely painting of the TARDIS exploding and hints of the Pandorica opening (which is apparently supposed to be a myth, according to our friend The Doctor). Yep, not five minutes in and we already can tell this is going to be a good one.

Remember last week when I said all our adventures seem to happen in dark, creepy places? Yeah, cue the dark creepy cave where we find the Pandorica. So much for it being a myth! I guess even The Doctor can be wrong on occasion. The bad news here is this thing holds some big bad that is now making its great escape. Oh, and it gets better – because there is a signal being broadcast telling everyone in the area about this event. Every alien that ever wanted The Doctor dead is now coming straight for him! Daleks, Cybermen, and much, much more. You name it, they are probably on their way. How are our heroes supposed to fight with odds like that?

With no weapons and absolutely no plan, I still love The Doctor’s chances here. He will win because, like he said, he’s got nothing to lose – except the Universe itself. Oh, and the TARDIS which is looking like the source of all the cracks in time. We know the cracks were caused by a really big explosion, and The Doctor pulled out a piece of the TARDIS from one of those cracks. It would appear that the TARDIS exploding causes several rifts in time, the first one we notice being the one in Amy’s bedroom. Which is probably why River ends up back at Amy’s house – because it all goes back to her somehow.

Sidebar before I do my final wrap-up: I was completely (and pleasantly) surprised to see the return of Amy’s fiance, Rory. (Even better was seeing him as a Roman soldier. I loved how long it took The Doctor to process that one). It was great seeing him again and even better seeing Amy slowly remember who he was.

Back to the story – It turns out that the Romans aren’t real and the whole thing is an elaborate trap to get The Doctor’s attention. Other bad things that all happen within the last five minutes include – The Pandorica opening, the TARDIS exploding, an alliance of basically every creature in the universe capturing The Doctor inside the Pandorica, Rory shooting Amy (with her looking quite lifeless as he holds her in his arms), and the pending doom that is the potential end of the Universe as we know it. If you’re wondering how we make all of this better, then you’re gonna have to wait till next week. This is proving, so far, to be one of the best finales Doctor Who has had. It’s definitely right up there with my personal favorite up until this point, Season 3. The Master’s complete dominance over The Doctor for a majority of the 3-part story had me on the edge of my seat. I don’t think my jaw has ever dropped as low as it did tonight though. As a voice echoed, “Silence will fall,” I noted how that could apply to the events happening on the show, as well as the silence in our own homes as we watched in astonishment at how epically bad things had gotten for our heroes.

Thus concludes this week’s recap. What did you think of tonight’s episode? And how do you think The Doctor is going to get out of the biggest trap he’s had to face yet? As always, sound off in the comments section below. And don’t forget to tune in next week for the thrilling conclusion. Here’s a preview of what to expect:

April Smith 7/22 @ Bell House

If you’re looking for a good night complete with fun times and good tunes then look no further than April Smith. The band (originally from Toms River, but now located in Brooklyn) will be playing a show at the Bell House this Thursday, July 22nd. If you’ve never heard of them, here is a sample to start you off with:

Good stuff, right? Then make sure you’re at Bell House at 7:30pm. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

Alex Band – We’ve All Been There: A Review

Hearing the lead singer from a rock band make the change to solo artist, some might fear this will just be a watered down version of the former band. Rest assured, this is not the case with “We’ve All Been There”. Right from the start, Band shows his fans that he still has some rocker left in him. That’s not to say that this is just like The Calling but with a different band. Alex’ voice is recognizable from his days as frontman, but the sound is all his own. The album actually achieves a perfect balance that should keep fans of The Calling happy while also adding to that fan base and making it stronger. The album grabs the listener right away with the title track, letting them know that Band is giving it all he’s got with this one. Good to know, for those who have been waiting since he first announced his solo career back in 2005. These loyal follows have stayed with him through label issues and several delays. Five years later and they now have a new album to hold (which has been signed by the artist if they jumped on that promotion). And what an album it is, too. With each song you can hear the passion Band has for his craft. You would have to love something that much to go through the rollercoaster ride it has been and even creating a label, in essence building a home for the newborn child to live and feel comfortable in.

The album is entirely worth it (IMO) but a few songs especially stand out for me. One is the single “Tonight”, partly because I have had more time to fall in love with it and partly because it is just a truly powerful song. When the video was finally made available, I shared it with everyone I thought might be interested and played it a dozen times in the first day. In case you missed it, here it is again:

Another song is “Only One” because the chorus reminds us we only have one life to live, which I take a step further to mean we shouldn’t waste the time we’ve got left. This is a lesson we all learn at some point, but sometimes we need repeated reminders.

“Holding On” refers to “holding on to a dream and staying strong” – which could be the theme song for the overall process of recording the album and making it accessible to the public, the whole time fighting the urge to lose faith and not give up. Keeping with that theme, there is also the track “Love”, which proclaims “I’m not giving up… I’m blessed with love”. This is the sort of positive, uplifting message we need in difficult times like we have seen lately. The final song “Start Over Again” is about life bringing you down and being able to pick right up and start again. Or maybe Alex just subliminally is trying to tell us to start the record over again…. Hey, you don’t have to tell me twice!

After listening to the new album a few times on repeat, it’s time to enjoy them in a live setting. Now that the album is finally out, there are a series of tour dates to look forward to. The tour began on the West Coast on July 14th and will end on the East Coast on August 8th. The New York date is August 6th at Highline Ballroom. The complete list of dates can be found on his website, as well as the latest news the artist has to share and a bunch of other extras. You can also follow Alex on Facebook and Twitter as well. The album can be purchased on iTunes and his website, as well as certain local retailers. You’ve waited long enough for this one, folks – go buy your copy today!

Doctor Who – The Lodger

Sorry about the uber late post, folks. It’s been a crazy week. Here is your overdue recap of the last episode, “The Lodger”. It goes without saying that there are plenty of SPOILERS for those who haven’t watched yet. You have been warned.

The street may look like any other street, but on it resides the creepiest house ever. The perfect place for The Doctor to take up residence. After all, The Doctor seems to have a thing for dark and creepy places. That is where all the action tends to be. (One wonders where he learned to cook amidst all of those adventures). Speaking of which, this line basically summed up my criteria for future relationships – You’re weird and you can cook – it’s good enough for me. But back to the show…

It was odd having The Doctor and Amy being separated for a majority of the episode. Also odd was having The Doctor making an attempt at being “normal” – although that was the good kind of odd. His attempts were actually quite hilarious at times, especially the shower scene and him playing football. Overall the episode was abnormal in the amount of normality involved. There wasn’t a lot of science fiction/fantasy involved (outside of the weird time loops and the spaceship that ended up being responsible for it all).

Favorite scene: It would have been The Doctor saving his new flatmate (b/c it reminded me of how he cured himself from when he was poisoned) but the scene where he shares details of his life via headbutt was pretty fantastic. Oh, and the final ten minutes were pretty fantastic as well. They were fun and kinda cheesy and everything Doctor Who should be. But that is just one blogger’s opinion.

What did you think of this episode? I saw a few complaints online that it wasn’t as good as the rest of the season (which is valid) but on its own I thought it was enjoyable enough. Feel free to agree/disagree in the comments section below.

Broadway in Bryant Park

Every Thursday this summer various Broadway shows will be participating in a series of concerts at Bryant Park. This week one of the shows participating is none other than my personal favorite: Memphis. I have mentioned this show in the past and highly recommend going to see it. Now is a great chance to get a sample of what you would be getting for the price of your admission. The concert series is free and features a wide selection of the current shows running on Broadway. This week is Phantom of the Opera, Billy Elliot, Memphis, South Pacific, and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular (I guess it will be a little bit of Christmas in July). For future performance, the complete schedule has been linked to above.

Kate Miller-Heidke to play le Poison Rouge Today

They say that everything in the world is connected in some way. That certainly has to be proven plenty of times in my experience. You may have heard me mention a little band called Jukebox the Ghost here in the past. Well two facts about them I may not have mentioned: 1) they have toured with Ben Folds in the past, and 2) they have done work with Sneak Attack Media. These two criteria can describe another artist I have recently discovered: Kate Miller-Heidke. Sound-wise the two artists are not alike, except to say they are both a lot of fun to listen to (but for different reasons). If you want to experience Kate for yourself then come on down to le Poison Rouge and join me for a night of fun music surrounded by an intriguing atmosphere. For a sample of her music try this video:

or check out more tunes on her MySpace.