Saturday Waffling (July 25, 2015)
The Davison/Baker edits are continuing to come along nicely; I’m firmly in the midst of the extra essays, which are mostly going to end up being Colin Baker extra essays, just because I think that makes for a better book really.
The last Brief Treatise for the foreseeable will go up on Monday, and then “Name of the Doctor” on Tuesday. I’ve got the first sentence of my Hannibal/True Detective piece, but it’s not quite cohering yet. I know the broad strokes of what I want to say, but the shape is still proving elusive.
So, Super Nintendo Project for a bit after that. The next stretch of games, namely “those that came out in 1993,” will take us pretty much right up to Doctor Who Season Nine, at which point I’ll switch to that.
Unless the Patreon hits $325 by then. If it does, I’ll run something alongside S9 reviews. Maybe another stretch of Super Nintendo Project. Maybe something else.
Speaking of which, are there any topics that would get you to back the Patreon if you’re not already a backer? With Brief Treatise off the table for a bit, I’ve very much got a slot for a blog project open, as it were. I’m very much open to input on what to do, and if someone throws something intriguing out, I may well follow up on it.
July 25, 2015 @ 6:10 am
I'm already a backer, but I'd like some food articles.
July 25, 2015 @ 7:57 am
I think all of us have been salivating for more of his food posts tbh.
July 25, 2015 @ 10:12 am
Hey Phil, How about Press Gang? One of the greatest TV shows ever made, and written by Moffat too!
July 25, 2015 @ 5:22 pm
You should do The Simpsons. All 20 something seasons, with extra posts for the various stuff they reference.
July 25, 2015 @ 7:25 pm
Off the top of my head:
-Hosting a variety of guest posts by various people who you think are interesting with said posts edited by you
-A History of Glychon
-"This is not a Review Blog" for the new series episodes
-Liberating Earth
-Head of State
-The full version of the Anti-Moffat
-A conversation with Lance Parkin on Series 9 (when it is completed)
July 26, 2015 @ 1:53 am
Since this a "waffling" post …
After some random channel-hopping, I discover that some classic Who stories are being screened on Freeview in the UK, on the "Horror" channel. Which is a little odd, because I had no idea there ever was a Horror channel. So far I've caught bits of Talons and the whole of Attack of the Cybermen, two very different kinds of Horror.
Secondly, the spammers are getting better at sneaking content into the blog. "Spell casters" are appending frequently to the "Introducing the Shabcast" posting from February this year. It's almost like one of those interminable scenes in the classic series where the Monster X is using a laser beam to slowly cut a hole in door Y in base Z. Invasion of the Spambots, indeed.
July 26, 2015 @ 1:58 am
Oh, no. Just … no. A two thousand word essay on every episode of every season? Phil's hands will just drop off.
July 26, 2015 @ 2:25 pm
Sounds like you'd be interested in this, Alex, if you haven't come across it already http://thesimpsons25yearsagotoday.com/
July 26, 2015 @ 11:28 pm
I thought it was a joke. 'extra posts for the various stuff they reference' is the give away.
July 27, 2015 @ 12:29 am
There might be worth in going back to revisit some of the early posts / stuff you skipped over before, though I realise that might tread on some of the book stuff. What I do enjoy is reading a lot of the user comments and analysis of which there's loads from mid 4th Doc onwards but very little for 1-3 which are some of my favorite eras. Revisiting random stories you feel there's more to be said on could be interesting, or could come off as a bit piecemeal. I was disappointed that there was never a full post dedicated to things like Dimensions in Time or Blakes 7, but again that feels more like added book value stuff than a cohesive project.
Blakes 7? Or is that too niche nowadays? Thewifeandblake blog seemed to get a decent mileage out of it in terms of interest.
One thing I find really fun is redemptive readings. Your post on The Chase is one of my favourite things ever (and is what convinced me to follow the blog/buy all your books). There could be potential in looking at a wide array of hated films/tv episodes etc and finding something good in them.
You could completely sell out and do a series of posts on the ever expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. For better or worse it's completely changing the entertainment world and I'm still honestly not sure if that's going to be a good thing or not.
I mentioned it last week but it's probably more relevant here, I think you'd get an awful lot out of doing something about Steven Universe. It ticks pretty much every one of your boxes around portrayal of gender/sexuality, magic, sci-fi, mysticism, character-based drama and repeating motiefs. I can guarantee it'll be the best thing you watch all year as long as you make it through the not-great early eps and don't do your usual thing where you wiki-research the hell out of it first. (Watching in order is important for this show, but if you need convincing, 'Lion 3' just got nominated for an Emmy though 'Alone Together' is probably more prime Phil-bait)
Have you dropped the Iain M Banks essay idea?
July 27, 2015 @ 8:21 am
It would be a one off, but I'd love to see your take on Jim Jarmusch's 1995 film Dead Man.
If you haven't already seen it, it's a William Blake Western, and probably the closest we'll ever see to a filmed version of McCarthy's Blood Meridian.
Heck, more William Blake posts. Those are always fun!