(I encountered another 11th Doctor. He was nice enough to show me his screwdriver!)
Two days ago, I went to Matsuricon 2013 at The Regency Hyatt Hotel in Columbus, OH! It was fun, and I loved just going around looking at all the cool costumes. One of the things I like about Matsuricon is that everything is kind of weird, but in a good non-judgmental way. It really spoke to me artistically. This time I went with my brother and best friend. My brother was the 10th Doctor, I was the 4th Doctor, and my best friend was the 11th Doctor. All our costumes had the Doctor Who theme. All 3 of our nametags said “The Doctor” too, so that was cool.
Speaking of costumes, I met quite a few other Doctors as well, and took some pictures. We also played board and card games, and I bought a set of Doctor Who sonic screwdrivers. I saw quite a lot of people with disabilities too, and in fact got some pictures with them too. The good thing is that Cons are usually always accessible. Later on, I bought a DVD set of Gantz. Then, I bought a print from Full Metal Alchemist, which is a great anime.
My brother wanted to check out the videogame section where they had a Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament going on. So, we did that for a while, and then played one of our board games we rented in the board game room, a game called Pandemic. It’s a pretty cool game where you have to stop disease outbreaks cooperatively with each player being given a special role and special skills. I played the medic role. Recommended game!
Also, I met a lot of people who complimented my outfit, and let me take pictures. I think meeting people is probably the most fun. Plus, the cool souvenirs. The stuff that I see at cons is unlike anywhere else. Disability doesn’t matter. People are usually friendly, and you get to share your enthusiasm, and discover all kinds of neat people, toys, art, and games that you (likely) won’t see anywhere else!
I hope I get to go again! I always love going to cons! There is so much to do and see once you are there! I actually have more pictures, but I’m still waiting on some of them. Had a blast though! Hopefully, I’ll go to more cons as they come around! And meet cool people with and without disabilities! Stay tuned!
Left to right: Aaron, brother, me. Note the cheese.
(Me with another 4th Doctor! Screwing around with sonic screwdrivers!)
I’M AN INTERGALACTIC WARRIOR: ON DISABILITY AS AN ALIEN CULTURE:
Well, it’s been an exciting weekend! I had a friend over for olives and beer while trying to explain intercultural discourse, followed a Doctor Who blog, (Blogtor Who); I got a surprise visit from my mom and went to Whole Foods for Indian. Curry tofu. Later, we had curry chicken, but my mom is vegetarian, and so she had more tofu. On the first trip out for lunch, she explained to me that she’d met a “spirit reader”; a shaman. Being a sci-fi nut and a storyteller, I usually take such readings with a grain of salt. This one especially. So, she told me that he said I was an intergalactic warrior from the Pleiades in a past life, and she had been Alantean.
For me, I guess it was just cool to be pictured as an intergalactic warrior. I don’t believe it for a second except as cool sci-fi. Maybe I’ll write a story about it. What was interesting is that the shaman said that in my “present form” I felt pulled down by the density of my physical body. This is before he had learned that I have cerebral palsy. So, as we ate, I couldn’t stop thinking: If I know the environment of the Pleiades constellation, then maybe I can extrapolate some idea of the weapons and culture that existed there.
One of the things I had read later on an astronomy website said that its surrounded by a nebula, pulsars, and flare stars. So, I got this idea of people battling in zero gravity with radiation guns, energy shield rings, flamethrowers, light saber-type weapons darken the bright nebulous battlefield like camouflage Though I’m sure this is all laughable to a real astronomer: If life existed on such a constellation, wouldn’t it be informed by its nebulous and poisonous environment? Can any real astronomers help me out?
Also, I got to watch all of Joss Whedon’s 2009 Astonishing X-Men. I especially like Joss Whedon’s depiction of Professor X…although his wheelchair looks like concrete. Looking back on it, I suppose there’s an element of alienation in every Professor X portrayal, because, so far as I know…he has never been designed by a person with a disability. If anyone can prove me wrong, I’d love to be proved wrong. Professor X has always been my hero, but it never really struck me how odd his wheelchairs are until I saw him in Astonishing X-Men.
The earliest depictions of Professor X as paralyzed were in the 60s. He has a practical manual chair, with a blanket over the legs. In the 90s X-men he has a hover chair, but I wonder if this is reflective of the density of being pulled down by his body. It seems to symbolize the hope of inclusion, but is so impractical. I think in the 80s, he retained the manual chair, but in 1989 it became a power chair in Pryde of The X-Men. Thus, in X-Men Arcade it was also a power chair, but ways were contrived by which Xavier could also walk (in the comics, and 90s cartoon.) The power chair model returned in Bryan Singer’s X-Men trilogy, and the walking power suits stopped; however, Xavier dies. Days of Future’s Past may right this wrong! In X-Men: Evolution Xavier becomes a slave of Apocalypse.
It seems being both the world’s most powerful telepath and disabled means the writers really don’t know what to do with Professor X physically except destroy him or make him evil. Let’s not forget Warren Ellis’s Onslaught Epic! (Hover chair Xavier; 1996.) But, the Onslaught Epic does raise a good point…that people never say what they mean…Ellis’s Xavier can’t take this anymore, and years of repressed psychic darkness turn him into Onslaught. As a person with a disability, I can say I’ve been upset by the doubletalk I sometimes experience, such as when someone able-bodied says they think of me as “Just the same” as them; but obviously I’m different. Being telepathic and disabled would amplify (and perhaps verify.) this doubt. So, in that sense Xavier has been very strong for 30 years holding back. He is repeatedly referred to as the most powerful telepath on Earth, so Onslaught must be a negative manifestation of all his mental power.
Indeed, I might not be an ancient alien warrior, but my first experience as an alien was the awareness of the difference between my mental and physical abilities. I’m at home in more a weightless, maybe formless environment. One ruled by imagination. But, at the same time, that means there’s a certain euphoria in every physical victory. Every hang out, every time I give a correct speech, turn of phrase, when my speech inspires ACTION, when I even go to the library across the street; there’s a feeling of victory, going beyond my form.
Speaking of form, now that The Doctor is set to regenerate this Christmas, I wonder what form he’ll take next. In the sense that he’s a formless super genius unbound by time, The Doctor has always been my friend in disability experience. But, as you have seen, I have a tendency to read disability as an alien experience. Even in disability-based communities. Because no one experience is the same. For every Iron Man, or alien, cyberpunk, or sci-fi experience…there seems to me to be a disabled experience as well. I am able in this way to make the familiar seem strange. I’m comfortable looking into alien spaces.
“The name I chose is the Doctor. The name you choose, is like... it's like a promise you
make.”
- The 11th Doctor
Just watched the season finale of Dr. Who 3 days ago. Holy crap was it a good cliffhanger! I’ve generally been disappointed by this season because Clara is so boring, but I feel like they put her to good use here. Also, you wanted an anniversary episode with some Doctors? How about ALL the Doctors. Oh, it’s only for brief moments…but they’re all there!
So, the main plot is that The Great Intelligence convinces The Doctor to fight him in what will be his final resting place. During this time (Long story short!) he almost gets him to reveal his name, and he gains access to The Doctor’s time-stream. I’m trying to hard not to give spoilers, but man…it means T.G.I can erase The Doctor from history.
Clara is sent in to repair The Doctor’s timeline, which hopefully means we won’t see much more of her, and resolves how she is able to be everywhere in The Doctor’s history. (I.e.: as a Dalek and such!) So, I think that was good. Goodbye, Clara!
When in the Doctor’s time stream, she is surrounded by all his previous forms. However, there is one form that apparently The Doctor fears, and he keeps claiming that that man is not The Doctor; even though everyone there is The Doctor. Apparently, this one might be somewhat evil, maybe? He claims to use The Doctor’s real name, and The 11th Doctor further clarifies that he didn’t do these things in the name of The Doctor. Still, we don’t know who he is.
Then the man turns around to reveal (spoilers!): JOHN HURT? MINDBLOWN! So, let’s end this with a nice Whovian debate. Who do you think John Hurt really is? The 12th Doctor? The Valeyard? Some other evil version of himself? I’d love to hear some fan theories in the comments section. Especially from those in the UK, since I’m American, and may be a bit behind on Doctor Who lore than those in The Doctor‘s home turf! Also, I’m really hoping this whole time stream repair plot means some old Doctors will re-unite! Allons-y, I say!
A good episode, all in all! I think it was misleading, since we still don’t know The Doctor’s name, but what a cliffhanger! I even got to see some old Doctors, AND (possibly) Clara’s gone! So, whatever comes next should be action-packed and thrilling, with big reveals, and maybe some Doctor team-ups! Who knows? Doctor Who knows! Let me know what you know in the comments section!
(Episode poster!)
A digital William Hartnell makes an appearance! (1st Doctor!)
(Clara makes a sacrifice to save The Doctor throughout time!)
“Hair, shoulder pads, nukes. It's the 80s. Everything's bigger.”
-The Doctor
How do you make Clara relevant? Add David Warner! David Warner in this episode plays a Soviet crewmember/mechanic on a nuclear sub where a frozen Ice Warrior has been discovered. Clara is amazed that she can speak Russian, so the Doctor has to explain that the TARDIS translates, again. Anyway, the Doctor had planned for a Las Vegas trip but mistakenly arrives on this Russian nuclear sub in the 80s, and the Ice Warrior perceives it is captured, and discovers the missile abroad which could start WW3.
David Warner’s mechanic is obsessed with Western culture and rock music. He serves as an intermediary to the Russians and the Doc’s Crew and convinces the captain they aren’t British spies (as originally thought.) For once, the Doctor tells the truth that he’s an alien. David Warner inspects the screwdriver and says maybe they’re telling the truth. Clara acts like a dope and confronts the alien but not before the Doctor explains that maybe now’s not the best time for questions. (Again, she doesn’t understand that theoretically the world could end in the 80s.) But, The Doctor is discovered while Clara again asks The Doctor what to say to the giant alien warrior.
Well, this makes the creature angry and it busts free to find the missile. Since the TARDIS vanished away in defense mode when the Russians shot at it upon arrival, they can’t just zoom away from the nuclear crisis. David Warner makes funny remarks and asks what happens to Ultravox in the future. He has a stylish walkman. The Doctor finally confronts the alien and tells it that it has no honor, which is an affront to his warrior code. Meanwhile, with the creature’s cooperation, The Doctor shuts down the missile, but not before the mad Russian captain attacks it with a machine gun; The Doctor tells him to stop though, and eventually the Ice Warrior mothership arrives, the problem is resolved. The TARDIS materializes (Wa, wa, waa…) in the South Pole and The Doctor asks for a lift as Clara and the Russians laugh off this near-Armageddon episode in Classic Doctor Who manner.
A nice funny episode which reintroduces newbies to the Ice Warriors and concepts like the TARDIS translation matrix. Unfortunately, it still makes Clara look like a newbie, but David Warner’s giddy Russian portrayal at least excuses and expertly equals her naïve behavior. The dénouement with the ice warrior’s code of honor being invoked felt particularly classic, as did the laugh-it-off ending. So 80s. Although the 7th Doctor hated the Ice Warriors, here we see a Doctor with the knowledge that the Cold War can end peacefully, and so he negotiates with them, instead of vowing their destruction. A nice mix of old and new that’s been a theme this season; no doubt for the 50th anniversary!
"Listen, there is one thing you need to know about traveling with me. Well, one thing, apart from the blue box and the two hearts. You don't walk away."
- The Doctor in The Rings of Akhenaten
I really don’t know what to make of The Doctor’s new companion Clara. She seems to have the same attitude as Amy, without any character development. The last episode The Rings of Akhenaten was good, and yet I couldn’t bring myself to relate to Clara or even like what she was doing in that episode. The reality: I fear the same “She’s your secret Time Lord daughter plot” they’ve been repeating since the 10th Doctor. Clara appears in different times before she started traveling before she met the Doctor, unless that means she is just caught in a time loop.
Spoilers: Clara doesn’t even have that much mystery surrounding her. We know she’s a Dalek. A converted Dalek. The only way you wouldn’t know that is if you didn’t watch the last season with Amy in Asylum of The Daleks. So, all this “Who is Clara Oswald?” business is just hype. We know who she is. Plot points are already repeating. Not that I’m not glad to see The Doctor again, and The Rings of Akhenaten was a great tribute to previous Doctors (with allusions to the 1st, 4th, and 10th Doctors adventures; even Indiana Jones.)
Consider: The Doctor dropped in on Amy as a little girl. Clara Oswald just sort of latched onto him from what I can figure, after The Snowmen. And the worst thing is that plot points have been repeating ever since. The premiere episode The Bells of Saint John seemed to me to be a rehash of The Snowmen, but with The Great Intelligence controlling the wi-fi instead of snow. And for all we know, the Dalek episode may well happen at the end, which is the beginning! Although I really hope it doesn’t.
Look, I know one plot point about Clara’s character: eventually, she’ll be a Dalek. What’s the mystery? Why does The Doctor keep her around knowing this? And she wants to walk away on their 2nd adventure? (of season 7.) Crazy! Plus, if The Rings of Akhenaten’s intro is any indication, she’s probably in a time loop. So, that leaves me with two possibilities: 1. She’s a Dalek. 2. She’s a Time Lord…which would be even worse, as you might recognize this as every plot since the 10th Doctor. It made sense when the 4th Doctor did it; but the 9th Doctor stated he (The Doctor) was now the last Time Lord. Are we supposed to say he’s lying?
I’m willing to give Clara a chance, but if they pull that River Song-type “She’s your daughter.” plot then it will be…well, hard for me to like her. I recently threatened to stop watching the show, but I cant…Matt Smith is just too good, and wacky! He’s got a good character in the 11th Doctor. I can’t walk away. (Literally or figuratively!) But, Clara. Come on. You need to get an attitude adjustment. And I really hope you’re not secretly River Song. Give me something new!
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg){kind=link}