Tag: neil gaiman

Doctor Who 6×4 – The Doctor’s Wife

Warning, spoilers, blah blah blah

For many, this may very well be the most anticipated episode of Doctor Who ever (or maybe I’m over exaggerating due to the crossing of fandoms). Personally, I have been waiting to see this episode since Neil Gaiman announced he would be writing one. Originally his episode was supposed to be part of season 5, but it had to be pushed to this season due to budget issues. You can follow the whole story on Neil’s blog. But enough backstory. It is time for the actual review/recap of this episode.

First off, this episode brings us back the Ood AND sets up a great story. It takes us to the end of the universe after getting a message from another Time Lord. It takes the soul of the TARDIS and puts it in someone’s body. And all of this happens before the title music starts.

After just about the best cold open I can remember seeing on this show, things progress even further. (Side bar: can I just say how exciting it was seeing the words “by Neil Gaiman” where the writer’s name goes? Because it was fantastic!) Sorry, but a lot of this review is just going to be why Neil Gaiman is amazing and how much I love his writing. I’m not sure how many guidelines he was given for this, but the storyline was absolutely brilliant. Not only that, but the characters who inhabit this world-beyond-worlds are all mad and wonderful. Something else great about this episode is the dialogue, which is also brilliant.

Amy: You want to be forgiven
Doctor: Don’t we all?

Followed by a very funny line about the Doctor being a Time Lord not actually meaning he knows what he’s doing, which is delivered perfectly by Karen Gillan as Amy Pond. I couldn’t even begin to produce all of the brilliant quotes I loved here in this review, but this is an example.

The story progresses and take the TARDIS away with it – along with Amy and Rory. The Doctor is left not knowing what to do, which is a “new feeling” for him, and I am left with chills literally running down my spine. As the Doctor calls the human form of his TARDIS “sexy”, I am left wondering who had more fun in this process – Neil while he was writing this episode or the viewers who got to enjoy one of the maddest and most wonderful episodes of Doctor Who that only the mind of Neil Gaiman could create. It’s something I can only describe as “Alice in Wonderland wonderful”. The whole episode felt like a fairy tale that had jumped down the rabbit hole and taken as for a ride across the universe. It was certainly an adventure I won’t soon forget.

Something else magical we get here comes in the form of a blast from the past. We get to see the TARDIS console from back during David Tennant’s run as the tenth Doctor. It was a nice little trip down memory lane, albeit a brief one.

Final note – I know we’ve said before that the TARDIS was a living thing but it was magical to actually see her come to life and get to interact with the Doctor (and save the day in the end). I’m sure it was a dream come true to write this episode. He also wrote a dream in itself in that he gave the TARDIS life and a voice and let her say hello to the Doctor.

Eight in Eight

Eight in Eight is a project where Amanda Palmer, Neil Gaiman, Ben Folds, and Damian of Ok Go pulled together for what was supposed to be 8 songs in 8 hours (but ended up taking slightly longer).  While the group may have underestimated how long the project would take to finish, it still is amazing to me that they did have the finished project within the same day (if you define “day” as “24 hours,” since they ended after midnight).  Not only is the amount of time spent on the project impressive, it is also amazing that the work actually sounds good.  The songs are definitely not mainstream, but when you look at the contributors this detail shouldn’t surprise you.  The album includes a song about Nikola Tesla, and another about Joan of Arc.  That last one, called “The Problem With Saints” is performed by Neil Gaiman, who is much better known for his writing than his musical abilities.  Neil carries the song fine though, and the subject is so interesting you’re inclined not to judge too harshly.

The whole project is surrounded by a ton of mad, wonderful, creative energy.  It was essentially a brainstorming session made public for the world to see (and even contribute).  This was made possible by video feeds and Twitter.  I have spoken before about the power of the social media tool that Twitter has become, but for all it’s uses this is definitely the most creative I have seen yet.  This is the kind of experiment I could only imagine AFP and the rest of the people involved would be able to make work as effectively as they did.  The finished product is definitely worth the $1 minimum donation they are asking for (if not more).  Plus the money goes to charity, which is also nice.  It’s great to see something really big and beautiful come from such a short amount of time.  I’m sure the actual process must have been really intense (I know the collective Twitter feeds gave a picture of an intense music-writing workshop).  If anyone actually watched the webcast, I would love to hear your comments.  (And if any of the artists involved want to comment, I am completely OK with that as well).  I will close with a thank you to those involved for being creative and trying something different.  I think that is what art is all about, and when the internet and technology get involved it makes it all the better.

*The album can be downloaded on Bandcamp, and more information on the project can be found here.