Update on The Man-Booker Challenge 2014 and Some Delightful Links

The shameful truth is that I've been a bit lazy so far with the Man-Booker challenge. I'm about 75% of the way through Joshua Ferris's To Rise Again at a Decent Hour (which isn't great after a week and a half). Without spoiling the review I plan to give later, I can at least say that …

Doctor Who’s Season 8: A Lesson in Being Careful What You Wish For

This time last year, I complained that death in the world of Moffat's Doctor Who didn't seem to stick and that there were no consequences. So what do we get for pretty much all of Season 8? Death and consequences. No female Doctor? Have a female Master. Afraid that the female companion is just going …

Doctor Who: Is the Missy Reveal Progressive or Patronizing?

This is your friendly spoiler warning. If you haven't seen the first episode in Doctor Who's season 8 two-parter, Dark Water, don't click any further. And trust me, you really don't want to be spoiled. I'll be honest -- I really wasn't expecting Moffat to surprise me in this episode. Instead, there was not one …

Doctor Who’s Deep Breath: Pros and Cons

Given that just the other day I argued that we needed to wait and see before passing any real judgment on Capaldi's brand-new Doctor, I'm going to dig deep and try to find nice things to say about yesterday's premiere episode instead of just ranting on ad nauseam.And the only real way I can think to …

Can Peter Capaldi Save Doctor Who?

Surely a new Doctor's first episode is always met with a strange mixture of hope, resentment and apprehension because part of what's kept Doctor Who on the air for so long (apart from that little decade-and-a-half-long break) is the fact that a new actor always brings a new set of possibilities to the role. And as …

His Last Vow: Moffat Does Everything I Normally Hate and Yet I Loved It

This should go without saying, but I so loved the surprise ending of this episode that I'm going to say it anyway just in case: there are major spoilers for the third season finale of Sherlock in here. If you haven't seen His Last Vow yet, I beg you not to read further. Now that …

Time of the Doctor Proves Moffat Can’t Write Death to Save His Life

Well, goodbye, Matt Smith. You were wonderful, but sadly I can't say that it's been a pleasure. Not only was last night's Doctor Who episode, Time of the Doctor, a Christmas special, it was also a farewell to Doctor 11 (or 13, apparently). Unlike Steven Moffat and his horrendous script, I won't meander around aimlessly …

What Steven Moffat Doesn’t Understand About Grief, And Why It’s Killing Doctor Who

There's a popular joke I've seen floating around on Tumblr for a while now. It goes like this: "Joss Whedon, Steven Moffat and George R.R. Martin walk into a bar and everyone you've ever loved dies." Here's the problem, though: George R. R. Martin and Joss Whedon are, of course, infamous for killing off the …

Why Peter Davison is Wrong About a Female Doctor

Time Lord #5 has recently given an interview saying the Doctor should never be a woman, which is a bit confusing. Prior to Peter Capaldi being named the 12th Doctor, there was a huge, raging, nasty debate about whether or not 12 should mark a change in the 50-year run of white dudes playing the time- and …

Doctor Who’s Girl Problem

This is unabashedly not about books, but I feel I've written enough reviews about the lacklustre 50th Anniversary short stories to merit this non-sequitur. I went into last week's season finale with more optimism than I expected. Mostly because I genuinely like Clara, although I give the majority of credit for that to Jenna-Louise Coleman …