Thank You for Making Me Feel Special - An Overview of "Doctor Who" Series 8

“Pain is a gift. Without the capacity for pain we can’t feel the pain we inflict.” – 12th Doctor

Despite the apprehension going into BBC1’s Series 8 of ‘Doctor Who’ with Peter Capaldi taking over the lead role of the Doctor, the show’s high expectations were met! Capaldi played the same character of 50 years, but his Doctor’s outlook and morality put him at cross purposes with the people around him, especially his companion Clara.

In many respects this Series 8 focused on Clara’s desire to have it all: traveling with the fantastical Doctor while enjoying a real life with her boyfriend, new character Danny Pink. Naturally, this pushes her to the breaking point. Danny is killed and she forces the Doctor to take them into the afterlife, where they have to stop Missy/the Mistress/the Master’s plot to rule the universe by resurrecting the dead into Cybermen! We are lucky to have such good acting in a children’s show. Capaldi’s darker version of the last of the Time Lords is a refreshing departure from previous actors while Michelle Gomez was surprisingly good as the regenerated Master. I hope Jenna Coleman’s performance as Clara has finally put to rest the unwarranted criticism of her and her character.

Finally, Samuel Anderson was a revelation to me as Danny. He made the ex-soldier-turned-teacher likeable despite being antagonistic to the Doctor. Even after he was killed Danny was still in charge. Pink choosing to bring back to life a boy he killed while fighting in Afghanistan over being with Clara was truly gut-wrenching!

The writing was its usual high quality, from the light-hearted Deep Breath to the whimsically violent Last Christmas. There were many good episodes written by showrunner Steven Moffatt (Listen, Dark Water/Death in Heaven) and others, but once again my favorite episode for this series goes to Mark Gatiss' Robot of Sherwood: a hilarious mash-up of science fiction and fairy tale!

The thing I can’t figure out about “Doctor Who” is some of the hate from a very vocal minority. Far be it for me to tell haters how to live their lives, but why watch something you know you won’t like? As someone who has enjoyed watching “Doctor Who” since he was ten, I am grateful it is still around for my enjoyment. And Coleman’s announcement that she is returning for Series 9 as Clara is the best Christmas present I have had in a long while!

Gigi Have A Pretty Vacant Christmas (2014)*

Gigi have a Pretty Vacant Christmas
Drugs have sapped your will
Just one stasis field
keeps you oh so still

Gigi have a Pretty Vacant Christmas
Be it ever true
It’s much better when your
body’s frozen blue

Mannequins sold based on your mold
Profit margins up this year
Soon the auction they dearly prize
We will publicize right here

Still Life vows keep you deep in cryo
Long as times allow
They just know you’ll break free to fight back somehow
But Gigi have a Pretty Vacant Christmas now!

*Sung to the melody of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane. Art by Daniel, Douglas and me. Apologies all around!

Romance Isn't Dead: An Overview of ABC Hulu's "Selfie"

In an earlier post I mentioned that little things are rebuilding my faith in Christmas, and I am pleased to update about something small that contributed to that belief last week…

“Selfie” was picked up by Hulu.

“Selfie” is a romantic comedy revolving around Eliza Dooley, the top sales rep of KinderKare Pharmaceuticals obsessed with social media. Having 300k “friends” on various social sites does not make up for the fact that she has no real friends. Recognizing her need for change during a vomit-inducing epiphany, Eliza enlists the help of Henry Higgs (KinderKare’s marketing guru) to rebrand her to be more considerate in her life while coaxing Henry to be less stuffy in his.

With Karen Gillan (Amy from “Doctor Who”) in the lead role of Eliza and John Cho (Sulu from the Star Trek reboot) co-starring as Henry, “Selfie” had geek credibility, but the Pygmalion-based show did not start off well on the ABC television network. Despite the show being anti-selfie, some viewers did not even give it a chance because of the polarizing title. Worse, the pilot was terrible. It had nowhere to go but up.

Yet with everything going against it, “Selfie” somehow became a charming, fun show.

One salvageable scene from the pilot (Eliza and Henry in a nighttime shower discovering how much they truly need each other) was just enough to give us hope. Rebranding the show around Eliza’s crazy antics and Henry’s exaggerated sense of decorum was a much-needed boost, and add to that a spiffy title sequence and a funny supporting cast (especially the likeable David Harewood as kooky CEO Sam Saperstein), it was fun to watch this struggling comedy improve with each following episode!

Even with its noticeable potential, ABC quietly cancelled “Selfie” early last month. Fans were devastated, but the viewing numbers were too low to justify keeping the show on the airwaves. Yet romantic comedies always have happy endings, and “Selfie” thankfully is no exception when creator Emily Kapnek tweeted that Hulu would air the remaining episodes on its site!

It’s not the ideal situation, but now “Selfie” has a proper send-off, one we can all follow at our leisure and not at a time forced on us by a network! We can continue watching Eliza’s humorous attempts at being social (“How are you-oo?) with Henry’s secret desire to dance. And even if the narcissistic Eliza and the pretentious Henry don’t actually get together at the end of “Selfie’s” 13 episode run, we know they will eventually become a couple. After all, opposites attract, and when Eliza and Henry are together, the air becomes electric!

Note: the producers made a conscious decision not to say anything about it, but John Cho is the first Asian American in a leading role for a rom-com. Doesn’t exactly put to rest the stereotype of the dateless Asian American male, but it’s a start!