Kindle Book Review: The Angel's Kiss

When this little book came out after "The Angel's Take Manhattan" I thought it was supposed to be the book they were reading in the episode. I never noticed the book in the episode simply had the title "Melody Malone." But "The Angel's Kiss" is a prequel of sorts to the episode/book in the episode. There are definite links, like a mention of P.I. Garner and a cameo by Julius Grayle. We do get to see how Grayle got his angel. And the statue of the woman and boy are there, but it is definitely a River story, despite that name not being mentioned.

The whole book would probably fall flat for anyone who doesn't watch the show. There are many subtle nods to the show, but never any direct mention or connection of anything other than River and the angels. Only the barest hints at things like time travel, hallucinogenic lipstick, and The Doctor. That's okay, though, because I discovered that River can carry a story on her own. Justin Richards did a great job with her dialog. I found it easy to hear Alex Kingston's voice delivering the lines, which made her sexual innuendos funnier to read. He also provided an easy read that was a detailed story that moved swiftly. He did a good job of creating a late 30's feel.

The story is of Melody Malone, private investigator, taking a case from a top 30's movie star who has overheard plans to kill him. On their second meeting it is clear the case will not be simple when the star does not remember her. The story is pretty straightforward for the first half (4 chapters), but then Melody accepts the offer of studio executive Max Kleiner to visit the set, everything gets going, and a bit crazy. I would read another River story. Maybe some archaeological trips? It definitely gives me optimism about reading some of this author's other Doctor Who books that have come out.

One of my favorite parts of the book is the 'About the Author' page. Here is what it says:

"Melody Malone is the owner and sole employee of the Angel Detective Agency in Manhattan. She is possibly married but lives alone usually, and is older than both her parents. Sometimes.

Why not visit her website? Ah - probably because the internet hasn't been invented yet. Sorry, Sweetie."

Visit this link to get the book on Kindle from Amazon

New News Is No News

There's a whole lot of nothing to report. Speculation about the next Doctor goes on, with Rory Kinnear in the forefront today. I don't think I know him. It doesn't look like he's been in anything I've seen, yet. We are going through the Bond movies now, and I know he was in Quantum and Skyfall. Bottom line, I have no opinion on him. We'll see if I have one on whose name pops up tomorrow. I honestly don't know why people report rumors from some sources, sources that are particularly known for not getting it right. So I am going to stay out of that mix until something more reliable comes along.


Until then I have decided I am going to review a couple of books I got for my Kindle. One is, 'Angel's Kiss', by Melody Malone from "The Angels Take Manhattan". The other one is the one that Artie was reading in "The Bells of Saint John", called 'Summer Falls', by Amelia Williams. It won't be a spoilery review, like the episodes are. Actually, I might've just lied. I just haven't decided yet. I've never reviewed a book before. I also just started reading the 'Prisoner of Time' comic book series they have been releasing this year. That got me to thinking. These comic books are numbered, 1 of 12, 2 of 12, 3 of 12, and so on. Each is of one Doctor starting with the first. So in December will there be a 12th Doctor comic book? Same goes with the short novels they have been releasing each month, which I may also review.

Over on the classic side I'm reviewing 1986's "The Trial of a Timelord" which was the entire season 23. So that's what's coming up so far. Hopefully we will hear by the time they start filming Christmas next month who Who will be and all this madness can stop.

Doctor Who Season 7 Summary Review

They can call it whatever they want but I'll tell you this for free, we didn't have one season, we had two half seasons. Season 6 was one proper season, albeit split, but after a mid season climax, the story continued on to resolve more about River as well as the larger story arc. This "season" had a story arc or the first half, the departure of the Ponds, while whispering in our ears each episode to remind us of the "Doctor who?" arc that barely links it with the second half. Even more of a link though is Oswin popping up in "Asylum of the Daleks," which really just created more mystery around the new companion. Then the second half of the season has a whole new look. TARDIS, credits, theme, companion, all new. On top of all of that there is a Christmas special dividing the two halves, which starts everything fresh and links completely with the second half.

Having said that, I think if I take this as one season it's kind of hard to get a feel for what I feel as a whole. When I treat it as two short seasons I get much more enjoyment out of each collection of episodes. Overall I love how they've used their higher budget. There were brilliant guest stars throughout both halves. I was satisfied with how they handled the Pond's departure. It was bittersweet because I loved finally seeing the Weeping Angel when it zaps someone. I honestly love the new opening theme and credits. I never fully warmed to the previous one, except for the way it changed over the first half of this season. I loved seeing Clara's story unfold, with the discovery of how she became the impossible girl tying in with my general approval of the finale. I never wanted them to reveal The Doctor's name, but they got around that well. All the ideas that ended the season were new to me so I was just generally pleased to begin with. Now something brief on each episode.

The Asylum of the Daleks

This is my favorite Dalek story of the new show. It felt like old Who but looked like feature film Who. Daleks were scary again, even the ones that came out of the crayon box.

Favorites: The surprise appearance of the mysterious Oswin, and the revelation of what she had become. That shot of the asylum planet through the hole in the floor. The snowy location in Spain. The Dalek ballerina.

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

Someone wrote wondering what Chris Chibnall was smoking when he wrote this. Well it must have been the same thing I smoked when I watched it because I thought it was fun, the sets felt massive, the story was interesting, funny, and at times touching.

Favorites: Brian and Solomon were both incredible. The shots of the ship from space. Having a gang just once. Mitchell & Webb as campy robots. Did I mention Brian?

A Town Called Mercy

I have a fondness for westerns from my father, so I like this one. I like the way they saved some on budget but kept a level of quality. Interesting story. Not a favorite, though.

Favorites: The location. The horse's name is Susan. Ben Browder as the marshal.

The Power of Three

It's okay I guess. It fills a spot. Good effects. Interesting if not confusing baddie.

Favorites: Brian again! The Brigadier's daughter. Them slipping away from the party.

The Angels Take Manhattan

I don't know what I was expecting but I was a bit disappointed at first, but not for long. A fine, bittersweet departure for Amy and Rory. Scary and sad.

Favorites: The eerie music. The cherub blowing out the match. Location. The idea of using the book. Honestly, the way it ended, I loved it.

The Snowmen

This may be my favorite Christmas special. Maybe because it's kind of a companion's first episode. I just thought it was brilliant. The Great Intelligence didn't do much for me, but I've seen worse.

Favorites: Music. Clara. New TARDIS. The spiral staircase. Clara dying again in order for The Doctor to discover she is a mystery. The Doctor using Amy's glasses. Clara's reaction to the TARDIS seen above.

The Bells of Saint John

Very good way The Doctor meets Clara again. Very interesting ideas about the wifi and Spoonheads. Kind of a sweet tale.

Favorites: The sequence where she goes into the TARDIS then into the plane. The Spoonheads, well done. Clara. Music.

The Rings of Akhaten

Interesting myth related story. Fun story for Clara's first outing. Quite dramatic.

Favorites: The view when they first got there. Clara waiting on the stairs in the beginning. All the aliens. The religious overtones. The Vigil. Mention of The Doctor's granddaughter.Seeing why the leaf was page one.

Cold War

I really enjoyed this one. Very classic Who. The Ice Warrior was great (in armor) and shaky out of armor. Good submarine story.

Favorites: Clara learning about the translating. The Barbie in The Doctor's pocket. Mention of the HADS

Hide

Loved it. I thought it was creepy, even after it got all sciency. Loved the interaction between Clara and the TARDIS. Love Emma and Alec. Sure it finished fast, but everything was answered.

Favorites: The creature. The pocket universe. Mention of a Metebelis crystal and a subset of the Eye of Harmony. Creepy mood music. It was actually a love story.

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

Loved it so much. I was not disappointed with the inside of the TARDIS. I don't know what some people expected. I expect nothing, then I'm only pleasantly pleased. And I had no problem with the salvage brothers.

Favorites: Only every thing that Clara encountered. The Gallifrey Encyclopedia bottles you see above. The Eye of Harmony was my favorite, awesome. The big friendly button, because contrary to what some say it was not just an arbitrary button he presses and magically they're free. The device was a remote for the magno grab from the freighter. By turning it off he could raise the shields again and save them.

The Crimson Horror

I liked it but it didn't dazzle me. There were parts I just loved, but not all of it.

Favorites: Mrs. Gillyflower and Ada. The strange creature. The ending, even thought that girl is rotten.

Nightmare In Silver

The Cybermen are my favorite, but that aside I really enjoyed this one. The characters were great. Matt did a good job playing a dual mind. Nothing stellar, but good. Loved the new Cyberman, if a little Iron Manish.

Favorites: Super fast Cyberman. Porridge. Inside The Doctor's mind. Seeing all the Doctors. The idea of jumping to future Cybermen. The Cybermites.

The Name of The Doctor

I loved it from the first time I saw it and I even think I loved every moment of it. The ideas thrilled me, mostly because I never thought of them. Great resolution to Clara, and mysterious discovery of The Doctor's secret.

Favorites: Use of scenes of the older Doctors. The impossible girl. John Hurt. Trenzalore being his grave. The future TARDIS. What's in the tomb instead of a body. River. The writing. Music. 

So all in all, when I look at both halves of the season, there aren't many episodes I don't love. Based on that, this may be my favorite season overall of the new show so far, closely followed by season 6. Probably then it would be 4 then 3 then 5. I might as well round it out with  season 1 then on the bottom season 2. That's overall for each season.

I'm greatly looking forward to the 50th, and in finding out about Christmas and season 8. The word is they will yet again try something new for the next season. I have no idea what that means, but after the past 2 split seasons I'm a bit nervous. I'll be around with the news as I hear it. 

Doctor Who The Name of The Doctor: Review, Part Two

In case you missed it, read part one of the review here....

Everybody enters The Doctor's tomb. They climb up into the console room, and it's the present design. I can't help feeling we are going to see Trenzalore again. If when he died there his TARDIS began to die, why else would it have this "theme" of a console room. And the place had begun to grow over, but hadn't gotten as far as it would be, say, if it had been 300 years. And the TARDIS was size leaking, but if it's infinite, how much bigger would it eventually grow, leading me to believe it had not been dying too long. But all of that is just wondering. Inside you can hear a sick sounding cloister bell. When they reach where the console and time rotor should be, instead there is a type of helix made up up tendrils of pulsing energy, rotating and glowing there in the center of the platform. "What did you expect to find, a body?" asks The Doctor, remarking he'd had loads and they're boring. This isn't what his tomb is for. He calls this the tracks of his tears, rips in the fabric of reality made by a time traveler. It's his path in time and space, from Gallifrey to Trenzalore. He points the sonic and you hear voices from The Doctor's life, including 9 saying "Fantastic". These are all of his days, even the ones that haven't happened yet, which is too great a paradox for him to be there. The Doctor collapses. 

Simeon G.I. is amazed by the timeline. Did he expect to find it? How could he? And if only he knew that THIS is not The Doctor's secret. But still, he calls it an open wound that can be entered, where he would be splintered into a million pieces along The Doctor's timeline to attack him. The Doctor says it would destroy Simeon G.I., who argues that it would only kill him, it would destroy The Doctor. He steps in. The Whipsermen disappear and he begins to disintegrate. The Doctor begins to spasm as we see Simeon G.I. with the various Doctors we saw Clara chasing in the beginning of the episode. The Doctor is being rewritten, his victories turning to failures. The trio go outside and see that local star systems are going out because The Doctor wasn't there to save them. Jenny disappears. Strax forgets himself and Vastra, and she is forced to kill him before he kills her. Inside Vastra tells Clara The Doctor is dying all at once. We see his faces float around the helix timeline. Vastra notes locations: the Dalek asylum, Androzani. Clara reacts. The Dalek asylum, The Doctor mentioned that. She sees the helix that has turned red and knows what to do, what she has already done, and why she is the impossible girl. The Doctor begs her, no.

River appears and tells Clara not to do what she's thinking, but agrees it's the only hope. The time winds would tear her into a million pieces scattered in The Doctor's timeline, but they would just be echos, not her. Clara argues they'd be real enough to save him, and how about that, she's going to be souffle girl after all. Clara asks The Doctor to spare her a thought now and then, and then turns to add, "Run, run you clever boy and remember me" for the final, or is it first time?

Clara is falling and in a voiceover talks again about feeling like she's lived a thousand lives in a thousand places. How The Doctor hardly ever sees her, but she's always been there from the beginning. Back to the scene from the beginning when she is stopping the first Doctor from taking the TARDIS, but after saying he's about to make a mistake, she suggests a different TARDIS instead, and we are treated to what is the first Doctor and his granddaughter in an uncloaked TARDIS flying through the time vortex. In the montage though we get the addition of a clip from the Library where you can see Clara standing behind the tenth Doctor, and she appears to be wearing the clothes, or at least utility belt, from "Asylum of the Daleks", and that should be about the same time frame. But it got me thinking. Oswin knew who The Doctor was as she tried to help him. That means Clara from "The Snowmen" knew who he was, or did she only know she had to save him? I think it must have just been ingrained in her to help this man, certainly more than just meeting him. 

It worked. Everyone else is restored, but The Doctor must go into his timeline to save Clara. River tries to stop him and he finally acknowledges her presence. She's baffled and he says she is always there to him and can always hear her. She asks why he didn't say something, and he tells her he thought it would be too painful for him, and he was right. Then he kisses her, a proper i love you kiss. Nothing sappy or overly passionate, but you could feel the love. And suddenly I'm not as negative towards River as The Doctor's wife as I used to be. Then we get a laugh when The Doctor realizes how the kiss looked to the trio, who can't see River. The Doctor tells her she's an echo that should have faded by now and he didn't know how to say goodbye. River says if he ever loved her he would say it like he was going to come back, and he does. Oh, and one more thing, says River. Always, quips The Doctor. River was mentally linked to Clara, if Clara was dead how was River still there. The Doctor asks how and River, naturally, answers "Spoilers". Sadly, she then says as she fades, "Goodbye, Sweetie". A still moment goes by as The Doctor stares at the empty space River had occupied. He silently turns and simply steps forward into the light.

Clara is falling. Talking about being born to save The Doctor, but now he was safe and her story was done. She falls into a foggy world that looked partially like the graveyards of Trenzalore. She hears The Doctor's voice. He is everywhere. Everything around her is him. Incarnations of him pass her and she sees them, recognizing them. They were his ghosts, his pasts. But The Doctor is in his timestream and it's collapsing, but he won't leave without saving Clara. She is confused and scared, but The Doctor sends her a leaf, page one, to remind her who she is. I might note here that it was THE leaf from "The Bells of Saint John", not the different one that was in "The Rings of Akhaten" so I still think The Doctor went and got the leaf to use here and then had to replace it. Maybe? Clara sees The Doctor and stumbles to him, collapsing in his arms. "My Clara" he says, relieved until he sees behind her a man standing with his back to them.

Clara is confused. If everything here is The Doctor, who is this? She saw all of him, and he's the 11th. The Doctor said he never said it was The Doctor, but him, his real name. The name you choose is like a promise and this is the one that broke the promise. Clara passes out. As he holds her, The Doctor admits that this is his secret. A voice says, "What I did, I did without choice." The Doctor says he knows. Then the voice says he did it in the name of peace and sanity. To which The Doctor answers, "But not in the name of The Doctor." He turns and walks off with Clara. The man turns and we see John Hurt standing there. Words appear on the screen:

"Introducing John Hurt"

"as The Doctor"

The episode is to be continued November 23rd on the anniversary. Is this going to be the true 9th Doctor, who destroyed the Time Lords and Daleks in the Time War? Since the future was there too, was it The Valeyard, who Simeon G.I. happened to mention? And what did he do without choice?

All in all it was quite a brilliant episode with surprises and ideas I never explored in my own head before. Clara's explanation was wonderful, and unexpected until you knew what the Great Intelligence was going to do. I am going to work now on a summary of how I feel about series 7. 

Doctor Who The Name of The Doctor: Review, Part One

I have to be honest, while I ended up loving the episode, the end of series 6 did nothing to make me a fan of one part finales. That and the hint at revealing The Doctor's name had me going in nervous. I was not let down one bit. Sure I would love to see two parters return, but with "The Name of The Doctor" it didn't matter because so much happened, and what happened was good. I didn't even mind the Vastra, Jenny, Strax trio this time. There is a post-Library River Song. We got resolution on Clara that I certainly did not think of, and in the end we learn The Doctor's real secret, which could indeed change  the course of Who forever. This was such a big episode whith so much that I am forced to split this into two posts otherwise it will be ridiculous.

About 15 seconds in I gasped and covered my mouth until the credits. On Gallifrey, a long time ago, some men marvel that someone is stealing a faulty TARDIS from repair. On their screen we see the first Doctor and granddaughter Susan going towards some capsules, un-chameleoned TARDISes. But Clara pops up and tells him he is making a big mistake. We hear a voice over of Clara talking about not knowing where she is, falling through time, everywhere at once to save The Doctor. He always looks different but she always knows it's him. We see clips of her trying to get the attention of the first 8 Doctors, and then in "The Snowmen", where she finally catches his attention. She's the impossible girl and she was born to save The Doctor.

London, 1893, a man in prison for killing 14 women is muttering about Whispermen. Vastra visits him and he uses The Doctor to attract her attention. He says The Doctor is hidden in the babble of the world if you listen, and he has a secret he will take to the grave, and it is discovered. He bargains for his life with space time coordinates. Vastra calls for a conference call. This is cute. But while they get ready you see the Whispermen passing the windows. Kind of tails and top hat with white stocking face and bitey teeth. Strax is in Glascow on vacation fighting Scotsmen, presumably for fun. He gets the message and has his friend knock him out with a shovel. 

Jenny lights a candle, there are whispers. They sleep and wake in Vastra's dream world, an Asian looking tea room. Since it's her dream mind she can change the desktop and formulate tea. Strax arrives. Whose coming? The women is the answer. Clara gets a message on modern day Earth as she is attempting to make a souffle, claiming "I will be souffle girl". Vastra had sent her a candle to release a soporific and induce a dream state, but knowing she'd be suspicious, she also put the ingredient in the paper and Clara falls asleep, waking immediately in the dream tea room. Vastra says time travel has always been possible in dreams. The last person arrives, post-Library River. She's in the same clothes from the end of "Forest of the Dead" and she meets Clara, who had heard the name, but didn't know Professor Song was a woman. Oh, River's face at that. I should mention that this whole scene was shot beautifully, and dreamily I might add. They had the table revolving so the walls slowly turned past the shot. 

They discuss the murderer and his message. We also see Vastra's real door opening. Clara learns River knows The Doctor's name, learning she had to make him tell her, it took a while. The killer had said one word as a clue, Trenzalore, to which River insisted on knowing what he said exactly. Something brushes past the real Jenny and dream Jenny seems to sense it. When they tell River of him saying it is discovered she tells them they misunderstood. Then a heartbreaking moment when Jenny lets them know someone has broken into the house, she forgot to lock the door. We see her real body on the floor when she says she thinks shes been murdered, a tear falling down her cheek. Then she fades away. River slaps Vastra to wake her up and throws champagne in Strax's face. Both wake up surrounded by Whispermen. They all hear the Whispermen telling them to tell The Doctor. The Great Intelligence, or Simeon's face, appears and says "His friends are lost forever more, unless he goes to Trenzalore." River says he can't go there. Clara begins to hear The Doctor's voice and wakes up.

Over a cup of tea Clara tells him everything. He is noticeably upset at the word Trenzalore, whimpering an "Oh dear". Even got teary eyed. Clara looks lost. In the TARDIS he tells her Trenzalore isn't his secret. He hooks her up to a TARDIS cable to link telepathically and get the coordinates. The Doctor tells Clara there is one place a time traveler should never go, never be found. When the killer said it was discovered he wasn't talking about the secret, he was talking about his grave. Trenzalore is where The Doctor is buried. And they have to break into his tomb to save his friends. At this point I was calm but thinking "Whaaa?" because oh man I never thought of him having a grave. Totally new idea to me as a long time viewer. Great concept. 

The TARDIS fights it. She doesn't want to go and won't land. We see Trenzalore out the door. Hard to describe so I'll include a pic. The Doctor remarks about where he ends up, musing maybe he retired and took up a hobby. He turns off the TARDIS anti-grav and they fall. This is what caused the crack in the glass from the promo pic for the episode. They land in a battle graveyards and his is potentially the most

dangerous. Clara thinks the huge TARDIS they see is the tomb, but it's the real TARDIS. Sometimes when they die they can "size leak" and the bigger starts getting outside. Another great concept.

River appears, only to Clara. the Doctor sees a tombstone for River and is confused, it shouldn't be there. Clara learns River is dead, but she still has the conference call connected. The Whispermen appear and River has Clara tell The Doctor her grave is a secret entrance. He says that they wouldn't have buried his wife out there, startling Clara. Close by, Vastra and Strax wake up by Jenny's body. Vastra pleads with Strax to use his magic life machine, which he does. Simeon G.I. and the Whispermen show up. In the catacombs, Clara learns about River's death, and subsequent life. Again River mentions he doesn't like goodbyes. Simeon G.I. tells the trio that Trenzalore was The Doctor's last battlefield, calling him blood soaked. He says he will become many things, The Storm, The Beast, The Valeyard. I've mentioned The Valeyard before as being in "The Trial of a Time Lord" and The Valeyard turned out to be an amalgamation of all the bad things in The Doctor, somewhere between his 12th and 13th regenerations. Remember that for part two.

The Doctor and Clara enter the tomb and Clara gets dizzy from the dimensional forces. She remembers their discussions from "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" where he met her before at the Dalek asylum and the barmaid and she kept dying, a conversation he says she should never be able to remember. The voices are back and say "The girl who died he tries to save, shall die again inside his grave". 

The Doctor shows up where the others are outside, late for his own funeral, ha. The key to the tomb is his name and he won't say it. Simeon G.I. instructs the Whispermen to stop the companion's hearts. The Doctor still won't say his name. What is your name. 3 times he is asked his name and he starts"Is..." and the tomb opens. The Doctor seems confused, and the others are when he says he didn't say his name. Then we hear River. The TARDIS can still hear her and she had said his name. Brilliant way to get out of it. That's why we needed post-Library River and I think how they brought her in was awesome. One of the best ways. The Doctor asks Simeon G.I. if he knows what's in the tomb, to which he replies, "For me, peace at last. For you, pain". they enter the tomb.

Read part two of the episode review by clicking here

Sneek Peek Clip From The Name of The Doctor

I'm typing up my review for "Nightmare In Silver" now, but this clip was released today by the BBC from tomorrow's episode.

Also, Jenna-Louise did an interview with What's on TV. The answer to this question was most interesting to me.

When asked how she and Alex Kingston got along, Jenna had this to say, "I never want to give too much away, because if you know how they get along it gives you an inkling of where the story is going to go, but it's an interesting relationship. Clara is fascinated by and very curious about this woman who was married to The Doctor and who she knew nothing about at all. There's also a mutual respect, they're both women of The Doctor, in a way!"

More Pics From The Name Of The Doctor

They just released a crap-load of new pictures from the finale. Who knows what to make of some of them until Saturday, but i for one can hardly wait.