Torchwood 206 and meme

[ishtar79]

You know, I was never into the whole Valentine’s Day thing even back when I was in a couple, but I’m beyond amuse at seing the initials “VD” show up all over LJ. I guess to those of you who are all happy-coupley and loving this day…have a good one!

I’m so behind on my fic reading I’m only just getting up to speed on the end of last year’s fic fests. I was tempted to rec, except I suspect everybody on my flist who might be interested has read it all at least a month ago.


I admit, I’m not the biggest Torchwood fan. I started watching because duh, Jack, and while it makes for pleasant viewing, none of the characters or the plots *clicked* with me the way Doctor Who does.

It’s gotten a bit better this year-still campy, but somehow with something added to the mix that was missing last year…and any season that has John Borrowman and James Marsters making out in the first episode automatically generates a lot of goodwill in me.

This episode, however? ROCKED. Oh, not the premise (though it wasn’t bad by Torchwood standards). I don’t watch Doctor Who for the plotlines most of the time either, and the special effects tend to be on the cheesy side. But unlike Torchwood, Doctor Who usually gives good character stuff, which is pretty much my drug with any show.

And characters don’t get a lot more awesome than Martha Jones. I was aware about her upcoming guest star status, but not the specific episode and from the opening act where the camera avoided showing her until the end of the episode, my heart *leapt* and I spend the rest of the hour in a state of permanent squee.

I just realized I haven’t really posted anything on DW S3. That’s because I delayed watching it after pretty much having my heart broken into little pieces by the season 2 finale, until I finally sat down and watched the whole thing in two days….and becoming an instant Martha fangirl in the process. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Rose, enough that I was putting off watching the new Companion, while trying to keep an open mind in the process. Martha, however, utterly won me over. As much for her own character merits (intelligent, assertive, funny and brave-instant “all-time favourite Companion” status) as for the fact her interaction with Ten was so much more interesting to me than Rose’s (I was and always will be a great fan of the Rose/Nine. But something about Rose/Ten never quite worked with me). At times uncomfortable to watch, occasionally rage-inducing and always frustrating, but compelling to watch nevertheless. Am I disappointed in Ten’s and the show’s treatment of her? You bet. (And yes, I have read essays on the nasty racial subtext and happen to agree). Nevertheless, the image of Martha, utterly alone, fighting the good fight (in snappy military!chic no less) against all odds and reason is downright iconic and gave me a thrill I hadn’t gotten…since a Whedon show, really.

Oh, right. Torchwood.

-I think we’ve established just how fabulous I find Martha. So I was simply *thrilled* to see her in such a good place in her life. A fully qualified Doctor now, kicking ass with UNIT and with an unmistakable air of confidence and quiet authority. Fully having appreciative of the knowledge she gained during her travels with the TARDIS and successfully using it, yet never living in the *past* or holding on to regrets. With her own life (and a boyfriend) now. Not that I ever doubted that she would be one of the better-adjusted former Companions. It’s just nice to have textual confirmation.

-I loved her reunion with Jack, and the little detail of his inquiring after her family. And while it certainly doesn’t make up for Ten’s dickery, it’s nice to see at least one lead character in a RTD show acknowledge that Doctor Jones is, indeed, brilliant.

-The Torchwood members not bothering to disguise their curiosity was hilarious. And of course they assume that their history involved sex. I think that working with Jack, ‘it involved sex’ is pretty much the default assumption.

-“Let’s just say we were under the same Doctor.” *brain go BOOM* All right, there is no way in hell whoever wrote this missed the mental image it produces. No. Way. In. Hell. They like toying with us.

-Oh, Tosh. You could do so, so much better. I mean, Owen? OWEN? Even without knowing the little “Date Rapist” personality trait, I can’t begin to imagine what anyone sees in him.

-LOL @ Martha quizzing Ianto on Jack’s ‘dabbling’ skillz. Wouldn’t we all?

-Samantha Jones. HA! I bet Ianto totally watches Sex and the City too and of course Samantha is his favourite.

-I know I rag on the special effects, but between puncture-wounds-in-the-eye, BUGS and spitting out one’s own viscera, this episode had me averting my eyes several times.

-Martha’s very biology being altered by traveling through time and space was a cool detail, I thought.

-Hee, Tosh, you morbid little “Weekend at Bernie’s”-watching thing! I don’t know what’s better, the idea itself or Ianto’s reaction.

-Oh look, Owen’s dead. *cue world’s smallest violin* I’m unspoiled, but have the bad feeling that it’s not a permanent condition.

The Letter meme: Comment and I'll give you a letter; then you have to list 10 things you love that begin with that letter. Afterwards, post this in your journal and give out some letters of your own.

embers_log gave me the letter P.




1) Pirates of the Caribbean Yes, it’s Disney, with all the flaws and problems that entails. Yes, the two sequels never quite lived up to the awesomeness of the first movie. Yes, Keira and Orlando’s acting can occasionally cause actual physical pain. But damn it if Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow isn’t a piece of slurring, stumbling, sexy, eye-linered GENIUS. And did everyone check out scruffy!Norrington? The man gave good scruffy.

2) Placebo Because I’m secretly a very angsty teenager. But really, I love their music in a completely unironic, unapologetic way. Even if I could go the rest of my life without seeing yet another fanvid set to “Every Me, Every You”.

3) Porn I’m actually referring to its fandom manifestations, either through fanfic or fanart. Despite my almost religious yearly attendance of the Athens Porn Festival, I actually find straight-up pornography rather dull. But in fandom, I’m more than a little appreciative. Not that I don’t love gen or plotty fan creations, but occasionally, a little PWP is just right.

4) Project Runway I’m trying to cut down on Reality TV I watch because I truly think it is epitome of mindless entertainment in a way that scripted TV usually isn’t. But this little show is a true *gem*. The people in it as a whole have actual *skills* and are in sense more deserving of exposure than most reality TV contestants, the drama (largely) comes from the actual ‘game’ as opposed to manufactured drama or big egos (and when it’s about the egos, it’s usually FUN as opposed to annoying) and it helps increase the fashion vocabulary of even someone as clueless on the topic as I. And most of all, it has TIM GUNN. Scientifically proven to make everything 400% better.

5) Political Satire Because it’s the perfect antidote to the grim reality of current events. Because no public figure, government or ideology should be immune from dissection and mockery. Because sometimes you might as well laugh or you’ll cry. Because humour can actually raise awareness and constitute an effective political protest. Because it can make politics relatable and understandable to people who might otherwise not be interested. Because intelligent, informed humour in my brain!porn. Because no matter how disheartening the news might get, you at least know you’ll get a great Daily Show episode out of it.

6) Posting Boards Yes, nowadays we are all about the journaling clones, but given that they were my very introduction to fandom and the concept of an online community in general, they’ll always hold a special place in my heart. Less personality-based than journaling sites, with their own rules and constraints when it comes to behavior and without the ability to chose who you interact with. None of those things are inherently bad, however, and while it’s a whole different kind of interaction, it’s interesting in its own right. I’m still a member in some non-fandom boards, simply because I get something out of them I don’t get from LJ/IJ.

7) Potterverse Well, duh. I’m certainly far from blind to the flaws of the series, both in the writing, plot and character development (or lack thereof). Great literature, they are most definitely not. But for all my issues with canon, there is just something about the fictional verse and the characters that inhabit it that fascinates me. I guess I’m more in love with the idea of the Potterverse than the reality of the books, and that idea means I’ve yet to become bored with reading fic and meta and discussing it. It’s why after over five years and more flirtations with other fandoms than I can count, I keep coming back to it.

8) Pasta AKA The One Thing Standing Between Ishtar And Starvation. Ok, so I’m exaggerating. Sort of. But the fact remains, pasta variations are in the (very) short list of stuff I can actually *cook* and let’s face it, a person can’t live on salads alone. I usually go for an easy tomato and basil-based sauce, but just yesterday, I made a delicious spaghetti marinara. I’m still ridiculously proud of that accomplishment.

9) Procrastination You could say it’s kind of my raison d’être . It’s to the point where I occasionally need to motivate myself in order to get to my actual procrastination-related activities (as witnessed by the lately infrequently-updated journal).

10) Paris The city, of course, not the disgusting excuse for a human being heiress. I was actually torn between this and my other favourite city (conveniently also starting with a P) Prague, but decided that while Prague is unparalleled in terms of breath-taking, almost magical beauty, Paris is simply a richer all-around experience. More museums than you could ever hope to visit, vibrant and happening and with some of the best food I ever tasted, it’s definitely one of the best places to visit.