Author Archives: Lindsey Evans
‘Doctor Who’: Where To Start
So, you’ve finally given into your curiosity and want to start watching Doctor Who. Who can blame you? All your nerdtastic friends are doing it. Not to mention, Doctor Who is arguably one of the most successful TV shows of all time and is nearing it’s 50th Anniversary! That’s nothing to turn your nose up at. But with all that success, and all those episodes, it can be quite daunting to figure out where to start. After all, there have been 11 doctors, 7 seasons since the 2005 reboot, and 26 seasons of Classic Doctor Who, which we won’t even touch in this. Overwhelmed yet? Don’t be. Lucky for you, you have options.
Blink (Season 3 Episode 10)
Fan favorite, “Blink,” writt
en by the current show runner, Steven Moffat, is an excellent stand-alone episode if you want to sample the series before committing. It does not spoil any of the plot points for later viewing pleasure. The episode actually features hardly any of the Doctor at all, but manages to give an incredibly accurate depiction of who the Doctor is, how he is viewed by others including his companion, and the tone that the series eventually takes on. This fast pace and suspenseful episode features Carey Mulligan as Sally Sparrow in her whirlwind adventure to defeat the Weeping Angels.
If you end up liking this episode, I recommend then going back to Season 1, Episode 1, “Rose,” and watching all the way through. The earlier episodes are great in all their campy glory, but it is definitely nice to know that the show gets better as time goes on, which makes the bad lighting more forgiving.
Top Fall 2013 Comedy Picks
The excitement continues! You’ve already read about my top six picks for fall dramas, but lets not forget about the comedies. Out of the 57 shows that are coming out this season, here are my top found stand out comedy picks. (In no particular order as they are all equally awesome)
Super Fun Night (ABC)
This show follows the friendship between three girls, Kimmie Boubier a junior attorney, Helen-Alice and Marika. The three best friends have had the same Friday night plans of staying in for the past 13 years, but when Kimmie gets a promotion, it throws them for a loop they aren’t sure they’re ready for.
Why I’m Excited: The show stars Rebel Wilson and is based off of her own social encounters. She’s hysterical and smart. I have no doubt that anything she’s involved in while have me on the floor in tears of joy and awkward angst for hours. I love that women are really taking a lead in comedies this season. I love that her friends are seemingly relatable. I love that us introverts are getting a show that speaks for the times we’re forced out of our houses to go clubbing…Whatever clubbing is.
Top Dramas Coming Out This Fall
Mid-August is upon us. That means it is officially time to start preparing for the most wonderful time of the year. No not the holidays or the onset of school, but rather the fall season of Television. To say I’m excited for this season is an understatement, especially after last year, which which fell flat. This year however the networks have 57 new shows slated as of right now.
Basically, I should probably drop all my classes for the fall to make time… Or actually get DVR, dump my boyfriend, and start getting groceries delivered to my house to make time for all the awesomeness in store for this season. Thankfully, I have a couple weeks to decide my course of action. That being said, here are the dramas I’m most excited for this fall, in no particular order.
1. The 100 (CW)
The 100 follows a group of rebellious young adults, roughly 100 years after Nuclear Armageddon destroys the planet. These individuals are deemed expendable because of their crimes and as such are chosen to be part of an experiment to see if the Earth is once again safe for the human race to live on.
Why I’m excited: For one this show is buying into the post apocalyptic fad that is taking over now that vampires are starting to fade away. While this show ties into the trend, it doesn’t take too much influence from the Hunger Games. I also really enjoy that their lead, Clarke, is a female and seemingly strong from the previews. Aesthetically, the show is stunning and really well put together visually, which is also somewhat hysterical considering some of the radiation impacted animals, which are horrifying. It’s unique that the characters are all criminals in one way or another, which will bring a lot of interesting characters into the mix with strong personalities and story lines.
Why Writers Should Try Improv
This article is a tie in with the review of Sundance’s Writers’ Room.
As an aspiring TV writer, I’m always looking for ways to improve my skills. It’s easy to look at the obvious choices to help with this: write something everyday, read EVERYTHING, take a writing class, these are all things a lot of us have already done. However, there is one thing that I feel has really affected my work for the better and is something most writers seem to not talk about for some reason: improv class.
I know it’s terrifying for us book worms with a relationship with Netflix so strong it threatens our significant others. Us writers who like to work from the comfort of our own bed with a bottle of Sriracha and a bag of Sun Chips close by in case something doesn’t go quite the way we expected, but, believe me, improv classes can be helpful, especially so for those of us looking specifically to go into TV for several reasons:
Time for Steven Moffat to Bow Out
As a die hard Doctor Who fan I find the upcoming changes in the show to be both thrilling and absolutely terrifying. Between the new companion Clara joining the cast, the 50th anniversary special slated for the fall, and parting with the 11th doctor, Matt Smith, I’ve admittedly had several panic attacks comforted only by the fact that I have such faith in the creators of the show and how they handle change. After all, one of the most magnificent things about this particular show is that every couple seasons it reinvents itself. Without this very fact, the show arguably would have never reached the level of success it has.
So, with that said, I find myself saying I am ready for the new doctor. I am ready for the next brilliant artist (as they all have been brilliant haven’t they?) to take over and put their spin on this whacky character who I love so dearly. I’m even going to go as far to say that I’m downright excited! But this excitement and anticipation for changes leaves me wanting something else to change.
Steven Moffat needs to move on and Doctor Who needs a new show runner.
Wait! What's A Dial? 