Doctor Who: Smith Era

(Matt Smith)

 

 

      Matt Smith is probably my favorite Doctor.  He's like an uncoordinated house cat!  (Seriously, he trips over everything.) There are so many characteristics about him that are admirable, but the one I like the most is he is like a best friend to his viewers.  Like most of the Doctors, he is driven by his passion and ferocity. 

 

 

 

      From his beginning episode, he declares "Bowties are cool."  He is truly introduced in The Eleventh Hour, where he meets Amy Pond, the confident, spunky, troublemaker- the little girl with the crack in the wall.  The Doctor went into his new T.A.R.D.I.S. control room to give it a spin, promising to be five minutes, but came back twelve years later. 

 

 

River: What in the name of sanity do you have on your head?

Doctor: It's a fez.  I wear a fez now.  Fezzes are cool.

 

      On the first episode of Smith's reign, it tells us how he met Amy Pond, and the future Rory Pond.  We are also introduced to the time crack in Amy's wall.  The Doctor then leaves to test out his new decked out T.A.R.D.I.S., but returns, yet again at a later time, on the night before Amy's wedding.  He always comes back, doesn't he? 



 

     

 

Canton Delaware: [into car radio] Suspect directly ahead. Coming to you now. Over.

 Amy Pond: Canton.

Canton Delaware: [steps out of his car] Miss Pond.

Amy Pond: Is that a body bag?

 Canton Delaware: Yes it is.

Amy Pond: It's empty.

Canton Delaware: How about that?

 

Rory: I couldn't help it! It happened, it just happened!

Amy Pond: Shut up!
[Amy kisses Rory] The Doctor: Yeah, shut up, because we've got to go!

 Rory: I waited. 2,000 years, I waited for you.

Amy Pond: No, still shut up!
[Amy kisses him for longer] The Doctor: And break! And breathe!

The Doctor: [Turns to Amelia] Well, someone didn't get out much for 2,000 years!

Amelia: [Tugs the Doctor's sleeve] I'm thirsty. Can I get a drink?

The Doctor: Oh, it's all mouths today, isn't it!

 

 

      Oh, the Ponds.  I adore the Ponds.  Aside from Rose, the Ponds are my favorite companions.  There's this certain thing about them that makes me want to watch their episode over and over again.  Perhaps, it's their journey together.  When they were first introduced, they weren't as close.  Amy had a hard time admitting she really love Rory, which resulted in Rory believing that she loved The Doctor more than she loved him.  It took The Vampires of Venice, Amy's Choice, and The Big Bang for their relationship to be truly secured.  Rory even had to choose between the older Amy and young Amy in The Girl Who Waited.  

      When they finally married, I was ready to join them in the rest of their journey together.  Trust me, it's a long journey.  Rory and Amy loved each other very much, even though some fans doubt it.  I suppose it's really how you see it.

 

Amy Pond: What's the book?
The Doctor: "Melody Malone" She's a private detective in old town New York.
Amy Pond: She's got ice in her heart, a kiss on her lips, and a vulnerable side she keeps well hidden. The Doctor: Oh, you've read it?
 Rory Williams: You read, aloud, and then went, "Yowzah!"

 

The Doctor: What the hell are you doing?
Amy Pond: Changing the future. Its called marriage.

 

And, my personal favorite:

 

Amy Pond: Hello, old friend, and here we are. You and me, on the last page. By the time you read these words, Rory and I will be long gone. So know that we lived well, and were very happy. And above all else, know that we will love you, always. Sometimes I do worry about you, though. I think once we're gone, 'you won't be coming back here for a while, and you might be alone, which you should never be. Don't be alone, Doctor. And do one more thing for me. There's a little girl waiting in a garden. She's going to wait a long while, so she's going to need a lot of hope. Go to her. Tell her a story. Tell her that if she's patient, the days are coming that she'll never forget. Tell her she'll go to sea and fight pirates. She'll fall in love with a man who'll wait two-thousand years to keep her safe. Tell her she'll give hope to the greatest painter who ever lived and save a whale in outer space. Tell her this is the story of Amelia Pond. And this is how it ends.




      Oh the journey's.... I can't tell you all of them, but I can tell a few.  One of my favorite's may be The Day of the Moon, where a new villain- The Silence- are introduced.  Whenever you look at The Silence, you remember.  Then you turn, and you forget.  It was quite interesting.  We hear, "The Silence will fall when the question is answered." a lot.  Whoever orders them around wants to know the oldest question in the book, written in plain sight.  Doctor who?
      Another episode I like is The Angels Take Manhattan.  This is one of the episodes where you really need a box of tissues, because it is a true tear jerker.  Rory is teleported back in time by the Weeping Angels, and Amy and The Doctor embark to find Rory.  The T.A.R.D.I.S. can't take them back to normal time; it will punch a whole in the time and space continuum.  So, to try and get back to normal time, they jump off the roof of their hotel.  And, it works!  They did return to current day- but, it also kills them.  Rory is again transported back by the Weeping Angels.  Amy, heartbroken, blinks to join the man who she loves. 

 

"Demons run when a good man goes to war
Night will fall and drown the sun
When a good man goes to war

Friendship dies and true love lies
Night will fall and the dark will rise
When a good man goes to war

Demons run, but count the cost
The battle's won, but the child is lost"

 

 

      Another Companion of The Doctor's is River Song, A.K.A. Melody Pond, A.K.A. Child of the T.A.R.D.I.S (She has most of the abilities of a Time Lord- like the ability to regenerate.)  Yup, Amy and Rory had a kid who they never got to raise (River was kidnapped by Madame Kovarian, who is in cahoots with The Silence.  Then, Amy causes her to regenerate, not knowing she was her daughter, while pregnant with her.  Then she is Amy's childhood best friend, Mels, who is brilliant enough to know that Amy and Rory are her parents from early on.  Mels gets in constant trouble so Amy can be her parent while growing up with her.  Then, finally, she is River Song.  She is conditioned to hate The Doctor, to kill The Doctor.  And, she succeeds, but realizes she made a terrible mistake and forfeits all her regeneration energy so he can live, knowing one day they would fall in love. 

      Like Amy and Rory, they go on many adventures together.  River Song is like this great mystery to The Doctor, and he doesn't stop until he finds out who she really is.  When she is no longer a mystery, she is something very near and dear to him.

 



Oswin Oswald: Rescue me chin boy and show me the stars.

 



Doctor: Go ahead and say it; they all do.

Clara Oswin Oswald: It's smaller on the inside.

Doctor: Well, that's new.

      The Doctor spends a good amount of time alone, leaving the universe to fend for itself, and refused to take another Companion until Clara comes around.  She's this new shining toy to him, and he wants to understand why she keeps coming up in his life.  Clara's odd.  She likes adventure, she likes new, and she likes old.  First she was a mind trapped inside a Dalek.  Then, she was a Victorian governess.  Now, she is a 21st century nanny looking for more adventure.  For the first time, The Doctor went to her- not the only way around.  She battles ghosts, ice monsters, and many other creatures. 
      She's still running with him, having her time with the ancient hero. 

 

Clara Oswin: Why you still here? Why you here at all?
The Doctor: Oy! You phoned me. You were looking for the Internet.
Clara Oswin: That was you?
The Doctor: Of course it was me.
Clara Oswin: How'd you get here so fast?
The Doctor: I just happened to be in the neighbourhood on my mobile phone.
Clara Oswin: When you say mobile phone, why do you point at that blue box?
The Doctor: Because it's a surprisingly accurate description.

 

Clara: [voice-over] I don't know where I am. The Doctor: Clara! Clara: [voice-over] I just know I'm running. Sometimes it's like I've lived a thousand lives in a thousand places. I'm born, I live, I die. And always there's the Doctor. Always I'm running to save the Doctor again and again and again. And he hardly ever hears me. But I've always been there. Clara: [speaking to the first Doctor] Doctor. The Doctor: Yes? What is it? What do you want. Clara: [voice-over] Right from the very beginning Clara: [to the first Doctor] Sorry. But you were about to make a very big mistake. Don't steal that one; steal this one. The navigation system's knackered, but you'll have much more fun. Clara: [voice-over] Right from the day he started running.

"I’m born, I live, I die. And always, there’s the Doctor. Always, I’m running to save the Doctor, again, and again, and again. And he hardly ever hears me. But I’ve always been there."

 

 

 

Doctor Who: Tennant Era

  

(David Tennant)

 

 

      I said in last weeks post that I would do a series of Doctor Who posts; here is the second installment of them.  David Tennant: The lover boy of Doctor Who.  Well, there are a lot of lover boys in  Doctor Who, but David Tennant is one of my favorites.  He is... he is charismatic, quirky, passionate, and just plain loveable.

      Tennant made his first appearance as The Doctor on January 18, 2005 in The Parting of Ways.  He and the Ninth Doctor's companion, Rose, have many travels together.  They defeat a werewolf curse (they are pretty sure Queen Victoria- the woman who started Torchwood- started a line of werewolf genes in the royal family), defeat the Sycorax, Daleks, Cybermen, etc..  Rose's run ends in the episode Doomsday, where she is taken to a parallel universe with her mother to save their lives. 

 

Rose: *to the Queen* Are you amused?

 

      After Rose, The Doctor had a hard time coping.  He loved Rose; he even came close to admitting it, though he never did until Journey's End. (Warning: You will need a box of tissues and a bowl of ice-cream.  Do not watch under emotional stress.)

 

 

Rose: If it's really you, tell me what was the last thing you said.  Go on, say it!

Doctor 1: Rose Tyler, I-

Doctor 2: *whispers in her ear* I love you.



 

Doctor: I only have one life.  I could spend it with you... if you want.

 

      After Rose, there was Martha.  Though she didn't last very long, they had a good run. 

      Following Martha, Donna Noble took the role of a companion.  She and the Doctor grew very close, becoming wonderful friends.  Donna grew with him, but unfortunately, she absorbed the time vortex energy and had to have her memory taken away from her. 
      After Journey's End, The Doctor traveled solo for a little bit before he regenerated.

 

                    
                    Martha: I was.  I was good.                     Donna Noble: Oi! Watch it spaceman!

       David Tennant had quite a run.  He battled so many and so much, and when he went, it was heart breaking.  He is a fabulous actor, igniting many feelings.  We see him again in the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, co-starring with Matt Smith, John Hurt, and Jenna Louise Coleman.  In the end, we hear him say one of his iconic sayings: "I don't want to go."
      We didn't either, David, we didn't either.

 

Doctor: That... Is... BRILLIANT!

 

 

Donna: Who was she, Doctor?  What was her name?

Doctor: Her name was Rose.

 

Doctor: What year is it?

Rose: Are you drunk?  It's 2005!

Doctor: It is? You're going to have a great year.

 



 

River: Hello Sweetie.

Doctor: Who are you?

 

 

 

Allons-y!!!

 

 

 

 

Doctor Who: Eccleston Era

     

 

       It has come to my attention that I have not been sticking true to the title The Lovely Nerd.  I created my blog not only for my passion of books, but also to gush about my passion for the nerdy things of life.  One of my, as some may say, obsessions is Doctor Who.  Now, I'm not going to explain the show to my readers- that would be cheating.  I will share with my readers the joys of The Doctor in a short blog series.  For those who do watch the show, they would know who the first Doctor is (Christopher Eccleston.)

 

"I'm a Time Lord.  The last of the Time Lords."

 

 

"Don't drop the banana!"

"Why not?"

"It's a good source of potassium!"

 

      To me, the Eccleston Era is an Era for of hope, love, and passion.  There are many reasons why I adore Doctor Who, but it would take too long to tell you every reason why.  However, I will tell you the main reason: his passion.  The Doctor, the last of the Time Lords, is fueled by the pain of losing his race.  In his early days, before he had his first regeneration, he took the name, Doctor, to, not only do good will, but also to mask his true name.  In the entire series, we never learn the Doctor's true name. 

 

 

 

      In Season One, The Doctor takes on a "companion" (one who travels through time and space with The Doctor)- Rose Tyler.  Rose was an average, every day type of girl; that is, until she meets The Doctor.  Her life is turned upside down by animated shop dummies.  From the moment she meets The Doctor, she decided that she wanted to run with him forever. 

 

 

 

      They went on many adventures together: The End Of The World, The Unquiet Dead, Aliens of London, World War Three, etc..  Unfortunately, Eccleston only stayed with us for one precious season.  In the end he regenerated from absorbing the time vortex energy to save Rose from dieing (she absorbed the time vortex energy to save him.)  A classic example of irony. 

 

 

 

 

      Doctor Who is not a "geek" show, as Non-Whovians make it out to be.  I can say, without an ounce of doubt in my heart, that Doctor Who is one of the things that make my day better.  It's a show that is a masked kidnapper; it seems like an odd sci-fi that you are not sure whether to watch again, it draws you and sucks you in, then refuses to let you go.  And, the bad part is, you like it.  Who knows?  Maybe it's just me.

 

 

 

 

"Maybe, if you'd like, you could come with me?"

 

 

 

 To Be Continued:

Doctor Who: Tennant Era

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Girl of Fire and Thrones by Rae Carson

 

 

 

(The image above is a clickable image)

 

       Lucero-Elisa's, aka "Elisa", life seems to be changing rapidly. 

      She was married to King Alejandro de Vega as a political agreement.  If the King of Orovalle, Hitzedar de Riqueza, gave men to Alejandro, then Alejandro would marry Elisa.  At least, that was what Elisa was told.  There was an ulterior motive, though.  Elisa bore the Godstone (a devine stone that God gives to a person he sees fit every four hundred years.)  She has always known she was meant for a service; that's the reason she has the Godstone.  What service?  Elisa hasn't the slightest clue. 

 

 

      Soon after arriving at the desert palace, Elisa is kidnapped by Cosme, Condensa Arina's lady's maid.  She is taken to a village in the hills, part of Alejandro's kingdom.  The village is full of orphaned children, injured soldiers, injured civilians, and a priest that left the monastery because of the corrupt ways.  Elisa becomes much more humble, and begins to help Cosme with the wounded and devises a plan against the Invierne and Animagi.  In that process of finding freedom for the hills' villages, she falls in love with Humberto, and they try and find a way to annul her marriage to Alejandro.

 

       Elisa returns to the palace a changed person.  She is no longer the child and she know where she stands in her opinion towards the war.  Elisa knows that the people that Alejandro has been governing need more protection.  Not only that, but they want to govern themselves.   As the attack moves towards the palace, Elisa does something unexpected- something she didn't know she could do.

 

 

      The Girl of Fire and Thrones was a brilliantly executed, well-written, and enthralling.  I couldn't put it down from the moment I picked it up.  She captures our attention with the wedding, then adds the real conflict in the plot with the kidnapping.  I feel like I could relate with Elisa, because it's known that teenage girls feel badly about their bodies and inferior to the surroundings.  She grows and prospers throughout the novel, and that's what really made me enjoy this book. 

      I recommend The Girl of Fire and Thrones to anyone.



 

The below images are clickable images to the next two books in the trilogy:

 

     



 

No Fear Shakespeare: Hamlet by William Shakespeare

 

(The above is a clickable image)

 

 

      This week, I decided that we should take it old school.  Really old school.  1603 old school.  In school, we read Hamlet.  I will be blunt- I thought it was going to be another dull read, but I was pleasantly surprised.  It was amazing.

      Hamlet's father, the king, just recently died, and no one seems to care as much as he does.  His mother remarried (not even a month after the death of her husband) to Claudius, Hamlet's uncle.  Claudius is made king.  Hamlet just can't seem to stop mourning his beloved father. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      The Ghost of Old Hamlet appears, accusing Claudius of murdering him.  Hamlet believes him, and decides acting insane will be in favor if he were to kill Claudius.  Polonius, a manipulative, nosy person, comes up with different scenarios to support his idea that Hamlet is crazy from heart break.  As the reader, we know that that isn't the case, and we read with amusement as he goes from idea to idea to prove that Ophelia has broken his heart.

      Slowly, the pretending turns into reality as Hamlet slipped into insanity.  He came up with a plot (The Mouse Trap) when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern brought in a traveling acting company.  He decided that if Claudius acted guilty after watching the actors act out his fathers death, then he would kill him.  If not, then it was just the devil tricking him.  In the end, Claudius was guilty.

      I feel like Hamlet is a back in the day version of Game of Thrones.  In one act, everyone aside from Horatio and Fortinbras end up dead.  Claudius, after realizing Hamlet knows, and Laertes, seeking revenge at Hamlet for Polonius's death, devise a plan to kill Hamlet.  Consequently, it back fires on them and Claudius, Hamlet, Gertrude, and Laertes all died from various methods (mainly poison). 

      Horatio lives on to tell the story.



 



The Help by Kathryn Stockett

 

 

(The link above is a clickable image.)

 

 

 

 

      I like books, ones where I can relate with the characters.  Ones where I feel what the characters are feeling.  Ones where I connect.  Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan is the outcast in Jackson, Mississippi, comparing herself to Boo Radley from To Kill a Mockingbird.  She doesn't exactly fit the description of a woman in 1962; she has a college degree, she has kinky curls, she's a smart individual who is interested in the equality of her friends.  

     

 

 

 

      There are two groups of white people in Jackson: those who care, and those who don't.  The colored women, the maids who have taken care of these said people, are now taking care of their children.  The average housewife is more worried about appearances than fair treatment.  They dress their babies in nice clothes, punish them like they are really the ones bringing them up, and mistreat the women who keep up the appearance of their homes for less than minimum wage.  Women like Hilly Holbrook and Elizabeth Leefolt leave their duties in the hands of women who have their own homes to take care of, their own children to feed, and their own lives to handle, but manage another family as well.  Aibileen and Minnie face the every day challenges of discrimination and segregation from these families, even random strangers off of the street, but still have the strength to keep on going. 

 

 

 

      Skeeter is one in maybe the three percent of people who care about the help.  She's a amateur journalist who takes on the anonymous title, but wants to do more than just a column in the newspaper.  When she returned home from college, she realized she didn't view the help the same way the other women in Jackson did.  She didn't think of them as "help"; she viewed them as human beings who had a choice and a say.  The longer Skeeter stayed in Jackson, the more she tip toed into the growing Civil Rights Movements.  Though she is an activist, she hides this, and succumbs to her mothers expectations of becoming a wife.  Against all views Skeeter had on herself, she had a healthy relationship with Stuart, and was even talking about marriage.  All the while, she was beginning a revolution of her own by writing a book of tales from the local help.  She isn't afraid of visiting the women at night so she can record their stories.  Against the odds, Skeeter's anonymous book was a huge hit, and her life seemed to be going relatively well for her.  Until she confided to Stuart that she was the author and an activist.

 

 

 

 

      Aibileen and Minnie never left her side, though, and were very grateful that their voices were able to be heard.  They even picked up another activist along the way- the very odd, but very interesting Cecilia Foote. 

      I didn't choose this book out of whim, like I usually do when I read novels.  I chose it because of its meaning.  I chose it because it addressed an issue so prevalent then, and even now.  It was made to, not only provide entertainment, but to also prove that we are all equal. 

      I definitely recommend this to anyone who are willing to read it.  It's a fabulous, well written historical fiction that captivated me from the very first sentence.