The very first episode, "An Unearthly Child" holds up well even by today's standards of television. Unfortunately, the three episodes following it that made up the first complete story didn't hold up quite as well.

It's the story of a mysterious girl who has strange gaps in her knowledge, and understanding of some things far beyond most high school students. It's the story of two curious teachers who get themselves into a lot of trouble when they try to solve the mystery of their wonder student. And it's the story of a cranky old man in a funny-looking time machine...

Yes, I'm a Doctor Who fan. Where do you think I got the nickname "Tegan" from?

Many thanks to Steve Hill and his Doctor Who Image Archive for the above pictures taken from "An Unearthly Child".

Comments (2)

Dear, should I also mention that our mutual interest in Doctor Who was how we met? Yes, I remember that day I came over to watch the newly recovered "Tomb of the Cybermen" with you and your family. We had it on, what, two TVs and taping on three VCRs?

Hubby | Homepage | 11.24.02 - 5:27 pm

How ironic... Tegan is the same character I named one of my writing group characters after (I've also used the name "Tegankat" at times, since my character Tegan is a catwoman). Tegan is probably my all time favorite companion.

One thing that's interesting about Dr. Who is that most people don't know that it almost didn't survive that first episode, since it debuted the night after Kennedy's assassination, which was taking up most television coverage. I have several Dr. Who resource books (plus autographs of Jon Pertwee, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Terry Nation, Elisabeth Sladen, and the guy who played Sgt. Benton).

BTW, I found your ID in the Elseworlds section of the DC board forums.

Lady Timedramon | Homepage | 11.24.02 - 9:49 pm

Got the latest Previews text file, which has all the comic book listings for books coming out in February 2003. This file is a bit easier to read than Previews Magazine itself because there is no artwork. I know that sounds funny, but considering the huge amount of very bad artwork, sometimes it helps a lot to read a plain text summary of the books before trying to deal with artwork. This means I'll be writing up our rapid previews after I get home from work.

The silence from Pop Keeney last night was deafening. So much so that I actually double-checked to make sure the game was being played there. Yes, it was. And it was close: 24-21. Unfortunately for the Bothell High School team, they got the 21 and are out of the playoffs.

Finally found a picture of young Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy from SpongeBob Squarepants:

Yup, they look an awful lot like Aquaman and Aqualad from the Filmation cartoon. I found that TV Guide on-line actually lists episode names for most of the SpongeBob episodes, so I know my next chance to catch Mermaid Man is this Wednesday on Nick.

And, to make you smile a bit before I head off to work, here's an article about technology that made me hope for the future. All I can say is: Go Maine!

This is a strange little Japanese flash file that is incredibly funny: Kikkoman. Reviews are out! From Comicon.com, reviewer Nathan states: "I think that, of all the mostly-naked, fish-headed, condiment-dispensing superheroes, this one would have to be my favorite." Also available at the same site, is Banana and Shrimp Showtime. English translations of both shorts are apparently coming soon at the Yogatori website.

Hey, if you can't have fun with Soy Sauce, then what's the point of life?

Of course, this reminds me of my favorite ever Soy Sauce story. My apologies to Dan, who may eventually read this.

Back in college, I usually ate dinner with a bunch of friends from the dorm. Being stupid college kids, we sometimes played jokes on one another. The funniest dinner joke had to be the day someone put Soy Sauce in Dan's Pepsi.

Dan had gone to get seconds of something, and we all watched as another of our dinner friends quickly poured a good portion of a bottle of Soy Sauce into Dan's Pepsi before he came back. I think all of us were curious to see what would happen, so none of us told Dan about the trick when he returned. Dinner continued on as normal, with Dan sipping his Pepsi every once in awhile. Finally, after one such sip, he set the drink down, made a face, and declared, "I think this is the worst glass of Pepsi I've ever had!" He had finished over half the glass before noticing, so everyone at the table suddenly was on the floor with laughter, much to Dan's befuddlement.

Strangely, after the incident, for a long time, he stopped drinking Pepsi and stuck to Mountain Dew.

Comments (1)

I just want to add that "Kikkoman" is indeed hilarious, even if you don't understand Japanese -- but overly sensitive viewers may want to give it a pass, as we do get a little glimpse into Kikkoman's wild and crazy life when he's not pouring soy sauce on bad guys. But MAN, it's a great send-up of the opening/closing credits of anime shows...

Hubby | Homepage | 11.23.02 - 8:49 am

Woke up this morning with an extremely sore right shoulder. My sleep-fuzzed brain said, "You just need some more sleep, hit the snooze" which I did. After the fourth or fifth time hitting the snooze I realized that, although I was getting a little more sleep, the shoulder hurt more every time I woke up, and I was going to be late to work. So now I'm in the final stages of rush-rush-rush to get ready for work. Writing in my blog is my "wake up the mental faculties" bit.

I've been getting some traffic from Neilalien's Blog, so I thought I'd mention him. The blog is a little disorganized for me. I tend to like narrative rather than collections of links, but at least they are good links!

Found two pieces of interest to me in Mark Evanier's newsblog. One bit is about the fantastic Max Fleischer Superman Cartoon, including a link to a site where you can download some episodes. The other is about Wayne Brady's new show. If you've never seen "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" (the American version) and never seen Wayne Brady in action, you are missing out. He's a very funny guy.

There's more on Comic Book Resources about the Astro City one-page preview coming out in December's Wildstorm books. I still haven't figured out what book I'll buy to get the preview, I'm just looking forward to seeing new Astro City of any kind.

I would write more, but I think I'm just about out of time. Gotta cruise.

Comments (1)

Boy that Neilalien sure does revere Ditko, doesn't he! And for good reason...

David J | Homepage | 11.23.02 - 12:29 am

I finally got to watch Smallville thanks to hubby-Eric's careful taping of the last episode for me. I kind of wish I'd watched the tape of Smallville instead of watching Birds of Prey last night, actually... Anyway, here's the verdict:

Birds of Prey: Split: Anytime I can figure out the entire plot within the first ten minutes of an hour show, you know the show is going to suck. And this one did. Badly. Bleh. 1 starfish.

Smallville: Dichotic: Now this is television. Mindless entertainment, well-scripted and acted. Smallville is better than most other shows on TV right now, despite being little more than a high-school angst drama with superpowers thrown in. This episode was fun, with the whole double-trouble thing going on. Thing is, only one of the Ians died... there's half a man out there who will be gunning for Clark. 4 starfish.

Incidently, if you are watching Smallville but not reading The Smallville Ledger and The Smallville Torch, you are missing out. Both on-line newsrags are short, fun, and add a lot to the whole Smallville mythos. I particularly like the "Ezra Small" story that ran in a few issues of the Ledger recently (and is available in the archives). This may not be the first case of a show being seriously enhanced by supporting websites, but it's definitely the best example of it I've seen.

Wahoo! 20 days until Aquaman #1!

Speaking of, I just figured out, thanks in part to Leah Adezio, why the Atlanteans hate Aquaman. Maybe. At the end of JLA #75, just before the bad gal dies, she curses Aquaman. You can take it either as the ravings of a madwoman about to die, or one last spell cast as revenge? If it was a spell, then the actions of the Atlanteans, including Mera, suddenly make a little more sense.

Latest e-mail from my sister-of-the-bad-Wednesdays says that they made it through this last Wednesday unscathed... except for the dog throwing up and one of the other children spraining her wrist. Doesn't sound unscathed to me!

Did I mention that Lost Tales of Erin was really good and you should all find a good comic shop and buy it? Hubby-Eric liked it too.

Tomorrow night, the undefeated Bothell High School football team is facing Capital in a playoff game held down at Pop Keeney Stadium. I sense a very loud night coming. Still, I wish them good luck.

Ah, dinnertime. I'm off to watch TV and eat.

Comments (3)

Hey, wish me luck! I'm teaching at Bothell HS tomorrow! In fact, I'm filling in for the girls' soccer team coach, who is taking his team down to Lakewood for the state tournament semi-finals! Tommorow will be a BIG day at BHS, and I get to be there in the middle of it all...

Hubby | Homepage | 11.22.02 - 12:22 pm

Addendum: I'm here at BHS right now, and man, it's DEAD! A lot of the students went down to Tacoma to see the big soccer game, and all I'm doing is showing episodes of "The Simpsons" dubbed into Spanish. (The big Stonecutters' music number is still in English, however...) But boy, we'll here the excitement from Pop Keeny tonight, I'm sure!

Hubby | Homepage | 11.23.02 - 12:29 am

Addendum to the addendum: Bothell's soccer team lost to Cascade this morning. The official score was 2-1, because Cascade won the shootout 5-4. Wow, that was a close match. The Bothell season isn't over yet, they'll play for third place tomorrow. Meanwhile, with the big football game tonight, we'll be hearing lots of noise wafting up the hill...

Hubby | Homepage | 11.22.02 - 5:06 pm

Peter David managed to spoil this week's plotline of the "Get Fuzzy" comic strip for me, as I hadn't read Monday's paper when I read his Blog about the strip. It's fair, since I spoiled the news of Aquaman "dying" in Our Worlds At War for him a couple of years ago at San Diego.

The storyline in "Get Fuzzy" reminds me of an event, no doubt embellished by the years, that happened to my big brother. My brother David was always a teddy-bear of a guy growing up. Everyone knew he was harmless. No one thought much about it, I guess, until the day my brother got in a fight.

I'm sure I've got my facts wrong, but as I recall, I was told this story by the librarian at the middle school David went to when I went to the same school the next year. Apparently, the librarian had heard David talking about a book, and had asked if she could see it. It was one of my Mom's rare books, so David was being very careful with it. As he was walking down a hallway to show it to the librarian, another kid grabbed it from his hands and swung it around, and threatened to rip it in half.

Do you remember the old Hulk TV series? From the third-hand reports I had of the incident, David basically hulked out on the kid and decked him. He was caught in the act of beating the kid to smithereens by a teacher, and both boys were hauled in front of the principal, who was about to bring down a heavy sentence on their heads for fighting. But he was interrupted by the librarian, who had heard about the fight from another student and rushed to my brother's aid. She pulled the principal out of his office and told him that she would resign on the spot if David was punished for defending that rare book.

David got off free, and the other boy was punished for stealing the book. At least, that's how I heard the story, both from the librarian and from my classmates who had older brothers or sisters in the same class as David. Indeed, after that event, none of them ever said an unkind word about David in my presence again. He became something of a legend, being a kid who could beat up somebody and not get punished.

Reading back over this, I wonder if this story is true, or something I've completely misremembered?

Still, it makes for a good story.

Comments (2)

I don't remember that at all. I wonder if I have an evil twin.

There was one incident (very remotely simular, I was in a fight at school and didn't get punished and it involved a book) but I like the results of this legend much better. The guy I hit, hit back and rather hard too as I remember.

David | 11.23.02 - 12:14 am

Oh how brutally our illusions die! And all these years I had visions of my big brother tearing apart some insensitive kid... Seriously, though, that tale kept me from harm throughout school, because everyone believed you could cream them if they messed with me. I didn't even have to say it, people in my grade just knew that "Laura's brother is really tough."

Laura Gjovaag | Homepage | 11.22.02 - 10:31 pm

Power Company #10: This book just gets better and better. I feel sorry for the folks who aren't reading it, because it is one of the best on the shelves right now. This issue is the story of how Skyrocket deals with suddenly being the only responsible partner left on the Power Company team, and it just hit me as perfect. 4 1/2 starfish.

JLA #75: This is the special double-sized conclusion to the Obsidian Age storyline, and the official return of Aquaman to the DCU. That last bit naturally biases me for the story, despite any and all faults, so keep that in mind. I think it was a good conclusion. No time travel story can have a truly satisfactory conclusion to every reader, but this mix of paradox worked out well in my opinion. The problem is that the first few issues made so little sense to casual readers that it would be seriously difficult for them to put the whole thing together. I don't know how it'll read once it's in a trade, but over the course of months the tale didn't really hold together well. In the end, the solution was also extremely simple, and that doesn't make all that much sense, either. So it goes: five starfish for the return of Aquaman, but only 2 starfish for this issue. Click on the image below to read my complete overview and review of the whole Obsidian Age storyline.

Supergirl #76: Ok, this is definitely the Silver Age Supergirl, but just how did she get to the modern world, and what's going to happen to her? This is a fun story and the book promises to be the same for some time to come. 3 starfish.

Gotham Girls #4 (of 5): I like Detective Montoya. She's one of the few aspects of the Bat-universe I think is really cool. And I hoped to see a lot more about her in this issue. I wasn't completely disappointed. I wish there had been more, but it was good. 3 starfish.

Birds of Prey #49: I like Amanda Conner. But the artwork... I just don't like it on this book. If this were a pure humor mag, sure. Heck, if the storyline just wasn't so serious, I could even see it working. But it just does not work here. So, I like Amanda Conner, but I'm glad this is the last issue with her work. 2 starfish.

Superman: Metropolis Preview: The cover and five pages of story at reduced size. I have very little interest in the Superman mythos. I get Supergirl mostly for the writing. I hardly even know what has happened in the super-books the last few years. So this preview didn't even begin to interest me. It had all the important bits for a story like this, including bringing the new reader up-to-date quickly, but I'm just not interested. 2 1/2 starfish.

Lost Tales of Erin: Get this. Especially if you've any Irish blood in you. Even if you don't, this is a great book with strong stories. Well worth your money and time. Go find it and read it, you won't regret it. 4 1/2 starfish.

NEXT WEEK: Lone Wolf and Cub, Wonder Woman, Girl Genius, Usagi Yojimbo, Gotham Adventures, Titans, Age of Bronze, Avengers, Ruse, and Previews! Wow, busy week!

Comments (2)

I think Obsidian Age should be subtitled "Nitpickers Delight"...for every good thing Kelly did, it seems like he did two not so good things.

Still, overall, I think it was a fine story and one of the few big multi-issue epics that stayed interesting from beginning to end. I only wish Mahnke & Ngyuen could have drawn the whole thing, or at least the big finale...I was never all that impressed with Guichet & Propst. And #75 was a real hodgepodge. Even the golden (in my eyes, anyway) team of Mahnke & Ngyuen was inconsistent...exactly how long are Aquaman's arms in that splash page near the end of the book...d'oh!

Hm. I think I'll copy this for when I review #75 on my own page!

Dave aka Johnny B | | Homepage | 11.20.02 - 11:28 pm

I'm glad that someone other than me found it interesting from beginning to end. I thought that I might only be liking it because of the Aquaman angle.

The fact that I read all of the early issues several times for clues, as well as to write up my overview/review on my website, meant that I understood the story. I talked with a friend in the local comic shop (Hi Carol!) and she had trouble understanding the storyline. Well, to be honest, she just didn't understand the storyline. I gave her my potted overview, which still took nearly ten minutes, so she would understand issue #75.

I've been paying very little attention to the artwork overall, which generally tells me that it's doing its job but isn't outstanding. I quite like Aquaman at the end, with the braid down his back. Guess he learned how to braid from Manitou.

Laura Gjovaag | Homepage | 11.21.02 - 10:52 am

Long day yesterday, got today off, long day tomorrow, so it's veg-time. I did get up and dressed long enough to visit the comic book shop and pick up this week's delights, but that's it for work today. Well, until dinner, I guess... it is my turn to feed hubby-Eric tonight.

Here's the start of this week's reviews:

JLA/JSA Secret Files & Origins: Wow, the second Secret Files in a row that I actually liked! This issue could actually be called "JLA/JSA Preview Stories" and it would have worked as well. In any case, two fins up. More details on the four-page Aquaman prelude story "Home Again" are on my Aquaman page. 4 starfish.

Amazing Spider-Man #47: Hmmm, don't like the new villian, but I think that's the point. The story seems to be paced too slowly, but I bet if I read it all in one sitting when it's done it'll seem paced too fast. A decent middle of a tale. 3 starfish.

Truth #1 (of 6): Kyle Baker's art has never really done anything for me in the past, and I hate to admit it's the only thing about this book that really bothers me. It's not that it's bad; I just feel one more step removed from the story than usual, and this is a story I feel like I really need to understand, to get into. Despite that quibble, which most readers will hopefully not have, this was a very good set-up story, and well worth a look. If you can find it in your shop. 3 1/2 starfish.

Comments (2)

Just wondering...have you ever read the Shadow book that Kyle Baker did with Andrew Helfer back in the late 80's? I think it's a masterpiece of black comedy, and the best thing Baker's ever done, Why I Hate Saturn notwithstanding. Before you dismiss him completely, you should try to scare up the Seven Deadly Finns story arc (#'s 7-12 or 13).

That being said, I still like Baker but nowhere nearly as much as I used to. The last two or three projects he's done just look sloppy and slapdash, like he just can't wait to get finished and move on to doing caricatures or whatever the hell he's really interested in these days...and for Chrissakes I wish someone would take his Wacom tablet and Photoshop away from him...I Die At Midnight, King David, and the Truth all sport the most garish and hideous color I've ever seen in a work of sequential fiction. Made my eyes hurt, it did!

Dave aka Johnny B | | Homepage | 11.20.02 - 11:17 pm

The answer is: Nope. I haven't read much of Baker's work. His art just doesn't thrill me. There's nothing wrong with it, but the style just doesn't click with me. The Truth seemed a little unfinished to me, also. I just never connected with the characters, and part of that was definitely the artwork.

Laura Gjovaag | Homepage | 11.21.02 - 10:56 am

Another long day ahead, joy.

Sounds like the Birds of Prey TV show has been cancelled, which isn't a big surprise.

The original premise of the comic book was that the mysterious Oracle (whom the readers knew the identity of, but no one else did) guided Black Canary on international missions where pure superheroics wouldn't work, but something more than standard channels was needed. It was interesting, exciting, and had the drama of "when will Black Canary and Oracle meet?"

The TV show turned that into "Three gals and a watchtower" and turned the crime into local problems. Lower budget, but not nearly as interesting. In fact, not terribly interesting at all. It also borrowed the concept of "us against them" from X-Men, a thing that is pretty much completely absent in the DCU, and made it a major plot-point. And that whole "half-metahuman" thing? HELLO, you are either a metahuman or you aren't!

In reality, the show and the comic had nothing in common except for a character named Oracle who lives in a watchtower. And sadly, as cool as Oracle is, she isn't enough to carry a show.

In other, more cheerful, news, the DC Solicits for February books are now up (for the uninitiated who might be reading this, comic book companies solicit previews for their books two months in advance, and comic fans on the web get access to those previews about a week earlier). New Aquaman! Last issue of Titans! And not a lot else that completely thrills me.

Well, that's not precisely true. I like a lot of DC books. But Aquaman is the book that keeps me coming back. Good thing DC is publishing it again.

Other books of interest to me include a new Elseworld two-parter, more with the Silver Age Supergirl colliding with the current one (including a Crisis-inspired cover), and the long-awaited return of Astro City!

Tomorrow is new comics day, and I'll definitely have a couple of reviews up before evening. There's a lot coming, so I won't finish in one day unless I somehow get tomorrow off. Stranger things have happened...

Happy Birthday, Inger!

The Seattle Times has run an article about Marvel comic's The Truth mini. It was pretty noticable on the front page of the entertainment news section.

My memory has deserted me, and I'm not sure where I got this fantastic book from. It's a thick hardcover, with a copyright of 1981. It's called A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics. The stories in the book range from 1938 to 1955, and capture some of the best work of the Golden Age. My favorite reprints in the book are from All-American Comics #20-24, reprinting the Scribbly feature from the magazine that recounts the origin and first adventures of the original Red Tornado.

The original Red Tornado is a much maligned character, used as a running joke in the very early JSA tales. But in her first tale, as recounted in the Scribbly features, she was something else. She was a powerful woman who took matters into her own hands when two young lives were in danger. Yes, even then she was still comic relief in lots of ways, and she wasn't svelte and beautiful Wonder Woman, but she still got the job done.

And I think it's that which makes me like the story so much. She got the job done, despite what anyone thought of the outfit.

Which is, frankly, why I wouldn't mind dressing up as her some day at a convention or at Halloween. She's the original real female superhero.

Comments (3)

I think the Truth looks pretty darn interesting, plus it's Kyle Baker which alwys ensures at least a look from me.

I think DC is long overdue to reprint all of Shelly Meyer's work, especially Sugar & Spike. I've enjoyed the few Scribbly stories I've been able to read. But DC will probably only release them in a fifty dollar hardcover which is pretty much beyond my means right now, sad to say...

Now get back to work!

Johnny B | Homepage | 11.19.02 - 12:44 am

Great, yet ANOTHER Marvel book that will be impossible to get at cover price because the media decides to run a story about it 2-3 days before the comic is released. WAY TOO LATE to do any sort of advance reorders on, and of course, being Marvel, I won't be able to get any reorders on it whatsoever. It's already going to be reprinted in one of their stupid "Marvel Must Haves" editions. Can you tell I'm bitter????

I ordered low on it because there was no hype or pre-press about it at the time, 2 MONTHS AGO!!! I didn't want to get stuck with yet ANOTHER dead Marvel book. Great.

Paige | 11.18.02 - 3:04 pm

Don't worry Paige, you aren't the only bitter retailer. I think PAD's poll has made it pretty clear that "most" retailers hate the no overprint policy.

And Johnny, I'd love to see the full run of Scribbly reprinted. It looks like a wonderful strip. I wish I could read more of it.

Laura Gjovaag | Homepage | 11.18.02 - 7:33 pm

Gotta love those days off that turn into 5-hour-days without a break. At least it was only 5 hours, even if it was five amazingly busy retail hours.

And I work tomorrow, too. Fun. Plus there's another possible 14-hour day on Tuesday, if I don't end up working the store instead. Frankly, at this point, I'd rather work at the store.

Ah well. Not much to say, then. Just gotta go rest and eat dinner.

The Bothell High School football team won their first playoff game last night down the hill from our house. The acoustics of this area mean that hubby-Eric and I can hear every cheer from football games held at Pop Keeney Stadium from most rooms in the house. Although last night's game was held at Pop Keeney, I didn't hear a thing last night, as I fell asleep rather early and slept like a hibernating bear. In any case, this win means the Bothell Cougars are undefeated, and are on to the next round. Good luck to them!

Speaking of football, I saw my first interesting football game on TV yesterday, as UW took on Oregon. Finally! It looked like UW was actually trying to win the game! A bit late for me to get bitten by the football bug, though. I don't think the Seahawks will do much to keep me interested.

I got my first taste of retail during Christmas-time yesterday at work, as the pounding rain seemed to drive people into the store. I might have to go into work today, although I was told I have the day off. Tomorrow I will definitely be working. The schedule (starting right after Thanksgiving) is 6-day-weeks until Christmas day... although we will be unofficially open 7 days. If you are in the Seattle-area, stop by the shop and buy something. It's a good place to do gift shopping.

I checked the subscription price for Aquaman if you order through DC, and it's a completely non-discounted $30 a year. With no discount, there's no reason to subscribe through DC, since their service is lousy (books arrive a month after they get to shops, often beaten up in the mail, and sometimes don't arrive at all). If you want to get Aquaman through the mail, find a third-party subscription service. As always, it's better to find and support a local comic shop if you can.

Thanks to people buying stuff through hubby-Eric's on-line bookshop, we were able to cash in some credit and get the new Schoolhouse Rock DVD. He gets a tiny cut of anything anyone buys at Amazon through his bookshop, which he uses to get more Oz books. And sometimes he gets non-Oz items like the DVD, which we are both happy to have. If you ever have any question about The Wizard of Oz, Eric's site is the place to visit. I think it's safe to say that he's recognized as an Oz expert, even among Oz fans.

Ah, and I just got the phone call... I need to get to work, and I have exactly 40 minutes to get ready. *sigh* Here I go.