Happy New Year

Apologies for the lack of updates.
I kept meaning to but ah, you know how it is.
Anyway, on a personal front I am currently still unemployed. The gardening leave is over and I have now been terminated from my employer. I have applied for various jobs, been interviewed a couple of times but as it currently stands I don't have a job.

We got through Christmas without killing anyone (hooray!) and now have the new year to look forward to.
Hmm.

There is a possible job I really hope I get offered, although there is no guarantee of course. I have to convince them that I can stand up and talk to their customers professionally by giving a presentation to them with little preparation time.
The boss said during our last meeting that he didn't want me going for the job if I didn't think I would enjoy it, because he said that with my technical skills he was sure that other jobs would come up for me.
I don't share his confidence. It certainly would be a departure from what I have done before but it is the best prospect I have and it is with a company I want to work for.
Of course, even if I do get that it means some serious commuting for a while and then having to move house closer. That will distance me from friends and family, which isn't a happy thought.
However the prospect of remaining unemployed is just too nasty to contemplate.


Anyway, onto the serious matter of Doctor Who.
So, Russel T Davies is going, David Tennant is going. We have a few specials to look forward to this year and then Steven Moffat takes over as Executive Producer. Exciting times.
I still can't help wishing that David Tennant had changed his mind and stayed for a final full season with Steven Moffat in charge. Steven is a fantastic writer and is scripts are amongst the best in the series to date. He also doesn't seem inclined to crowbar the gay comments into everything (as Russell does).

Russell has written some great scripts in the time he has helmed the show and his enthusiasm and drive has certainly contributed to its success, but sometimes you think that his showmanship occasionally gets the better of him - there are definitely times when the logic and drama of a story seems to take second fiddle to the his vision for the story.

A few recent examples:
The Runaway Bride Christmas special - where (ignoring the shouting Catherine Taite rubbish) the villain (the incredibly ancient Arachnoss Emperor) never seemed to be that threatening at any stage, other than thrashing about and screaming. Where was the intelligence behind the monster? Even the "star" spaceship firing lightning blasts at London that seemed more because "it would look really cool" than because it advanced the drama in any way.
The Doctor's Daughter - again, the concept could have worked but it was rushed and bodged for the sake of the completely illogical and unrealistic "Hello Dad" opening dialogue. The idea of using a machine to create genetic clones is fine, but they should have used everyone rather than just the Doctor, or at the least had some excuse that explained why they didn't use the machine on Donna and Marsha. Equally why would her fast learning have included any reference to her father? Indeed why didn't the machine mix his DNA with the existing colonists to create the effects of normal procreation?
Come to that, how come the Colonel was older than the rest of them?
Midnight - Hmm. Nice concept but it just didn't work. The whole thing stank of low budget story that wasn't going anywhere and what exactly was the point of the monster?
Turn Left - Actually, apart from the rubbish beetle, this was a fantastic episode and I just wanted to mention it again. A great concept depicted wonderfully.
Stolen Earth/Journey's End - Where to begin? Well, the major problem I have with this story is the way it clashes (yet again) with the whole Time War concept for the new series.
How many times can loopholes be found that enable one side of the war to keep coming back but prevent the other side from doing so?
I disagree with the concept that the Daleks have to be in every series (as Russell T Davis has said before), especially if it means having to invent yet another way they could have survived the Time War.
If Dalek Khan can simply go back in time and save Davros and the others from being wiped out, why not do the same for the Time Lords?
And again, the "false" regeneration of the Doctor made a great cliff-hangar, but what exactly was the point of it?
The Next Doctor - Okay, I love seeing the Cybermen back but again, where was the drama? Where was the threat? At no point did I feel the sense of peril that Doctor Who really needs. There was nothing really flawed in the story, but it never really gripped me.
Why were the Cybermen collecting children to work on their machines? What could human children do that powerful cybermen couldn't? It was never explained and the decidedly well-fed and not really impoverished or dirty children did kind of ruin the illusion a bit. It was like watching Oliver Twist - I kind of expected them to burst into song at any moment.
Then there was the huge Cyberking construct. Very nice, but again not really threatening. What exactly was it trying to do and how would firing blasts at a few victorian houses in one city make any real difference?
I almost expected them to have H.G. Wells appear at the end and say "This huge machine gives me a fantastic idea for a book", but he sadly failed to do so.

I wonder what will be in store for us with the next specials?