The Doctor As Show Man and Space 1889 Cosplayer

The Doctor As Show Man and Space 1889 Cosplayer
(Spoiler Alert!)

It's been a busy two weeks, so when I finally sat down to catch up with Doctor Who, I had two episodes to watch. The first episode, The Lie of the Land, is actually part three of the two previous episodes which I found to be mediocre as best. 

Was I expecting anything better for this storyline's finale? No, not really. The Lie of the Land didn't disappoint on that respect. It was mediocre in script and well-done in acting and execution. Bill is still a strong, sympathetic character willing to lay down her life to save others, Nardole is still a loyal aide-de-camp willing to go the extra mile to help out, and the Doctor is... Well, he's a show man of sorts, selling the evil monks' "new history" to the unsuspecting public through slick commercials. Why the evil monks ever go to the extent they do to take over the world is never satisfactorily explained, including the gigantic statues of their mummy-like visages. They should have taken a lesson from the Daleks and Cybermen. Good ol' fashioned firepower and metal suits work just fine to invade Earth in Doctor Who.

Missy is seen once again in The Lie, but her cameo doesn't seem particularly necessary to the plot, as the Doctor should be able to figure things out himself with his abilities and resources. She's incarcerated in a TARDIS-styled vault and seems content to be locked up. There's hints she's not as sociopathic/psychopathic as she once was, but she's still not portrayed as a positive middle-aged female image, but rather as a figure of ridicule/hate. Actress Michelle Gomez could do better and deserves a stronger role.
 
The Orwellian overtones of "He who owns the past owns the future" are good in The Lie, but the overall arc of the trilogy of episodes isn't quite pulled off.  A good script editor could have helped cobble these three disparate episodes together in a more coherent and effective manner and brought out the strengths in each. As is... nice try, but it's very sad how this trilogy falls flat. At least Bill has a decent hairstyle this time out, and I enjoyed the "Maoist China" style of bland/uni-colored clothing of the populace as well as the Doctor's "worn" jacket.

Empress of Mars is a stronger episode in that it doesn't try to be anything it isn't.  The Doctor meets his old foes, the Ice Warriors. They've been updated a bit without losing their lovable "monster of the week" look about them that they've sported since the Patrick Troughton era. My husband was pleased to see the Victorian-era military men on an expedition on Mars, very reminiscent of the characters one takes on in the role playing game Space 1889. (The military costuming was accurate historically according to hubby who is an expert on such things, too.)

Why there is oxygen underground on Mars is never explained, especially since the surface is dead and there's no obvious plant life left.  The frozen/hibernating Ice Warriors are very similar to the Patrick Troughton series Cybermen who were hibernating on Mondas in a pyramid-like set-up. 

Hmm... Pyramids and spacesuits seem to be returning images in this season, as the Doctor and Bill have been seen in spacesuits in Empress of Mars, Oxygen and in underwater diving suits in Thin Ice. The evil monks have a spacecraft (I assume that's what it is since it "flies") that's pyramid-shaped in Nemesis, The Pyramid at the End of the World,  and The Lie of the Land. Is there some kind of connection we're suppose to make with the reoccurring imagery? I have to say, Peter looks great in a form-hugging spacesuit. I hope the hoodie look has been put to rest for good.

With only a few more episodes to go in Peter Capaldi's last year as the Doctor, fingers crossed we get another Mark Gatiss-written story. What's your take on these last episodes? Please write your comments below. Thanks.

 Can't get enough of the man in the spacesuit, can you? :)

Coming Soon... My other persona's  Loving Who series from Devine Destinies Books!

Doctor Who--and Loving Who--Return!

Doctor Who--and Loving Who--Return!

It's been a while since I wrote about the Doctor, but this month I have something to write about concerning both the latest series premiere and the re-release of my original Doctor Who-inspired series, Loving Who. (This is a PG to PG-13 rated series, so I'm writing under my Cynthianna pen name.)

My wacky sci-fi romantic-comedies, beginning with the novel Loving Who, are no longer in print from their former publisher (due to a change in business model). The good news is they will be re-released with new cover art and new editing in all new editions from Devine Destinies Books. I'm excited because I really enjoyed revisiting my old friends Cici Connors and the alien John Smith from Loving Who, Leaving Who and Losing Who. I know a lot of new Whovians will enjoy their wild adventures in time, space and fandom, too. I can't wait to introduce them to these new Who-fans.

I don't have an exact release date yet for the first title, but I'll let you know when I do. In the meantime, I'd like to ask you favor... Would you be interested in reading and writing a short review of Loving Who and then posting your review to Amazon and Goodreads? I'd sincerely appreciate it, as the old reviews posted there will no longer be associated with the new release. So, if you're interested, please email me at cynthianna @ hotmail.com (no spaces) and let me know if you're able to help me out with a review. Thanks.

Now onto the quickie review of the opening episode, The Pilot. I must say Peter Capaldi is looking great and  seems very relaxed in the role of the Doctor. His hiding out at a university and teaching physics seems up the Doctor's alley, and it gave me a flashback to the partially filmed Douglas Adams' story, Shada, where the Doctor met an old friend who was hanging out as a professor at an English university. The TARDIS in the corner of his well-appointed office fits the decor perfectly.

The reasons why the Doctor has settled down for a spell to teach--and why the alien Nardole is still with him--aren't given, but I'm willing to give it a pass for now. The university professor situation is intriguing,  and the young woman he meets and encourages to study science is intriguing as well. "Bill" isn't your typical college co-ed, as she's not officially a student, and yet she's bright and eager to learn. (After seeing say some rather dumb lines in the trailers, I wasn't sure if I would like her, but she's much more intelligent than those short blurbs indicate. Whew!) About the only criticism I have of Bill after the first story is her horrible taste in clothing and unkempt hairstyle. Nothing she wears is flattering for her body type, in my opinion. I hope the costume and makeup department get to work on improving her look.

We learn in snippets that Bill (Pearl Mackie) is a foster child and never knew her mother. She's a sympathetic character and seems to have the ambition to make something of herself despite her poor circumstances. The Doctor and Nardole (Matt Lucas) seem to be protecting a "vault" in the basement of the building where the Doctor's office is located, but for what reason and from whom are still a mystery. The opening story isn't overly complicated, but it flows at a good pace and introduces Bill and the audience to the TARDIS and the idea that the Doctor is much more than meets the eye. This is always a good way to restart a series after it's been in hiatus for a while.

I'm looking forward to episode two, and hopeful Moffat doesn't derail the more positive and helpful Doctor to bring back his morose persona of the past seasons. Peter Capaldi announced this will be his last year to play the Doctor, and I'd rather he go out on a high note than a low one, wouldn't you? Fingers crossed!

P.S. My short story, If You Give a Time Traveler a Cookie, featuring Cici and John from Loving Who, will also be available from Devine Destinies. Keep it tuned here for details.

Costuming--It's Not Just for Halloween Anymore

Costuming--It's Not Just For Halloween Anymore

It's October, and I know a lot of folks are getting their Halloween costumes together either for themselves (to attend a masquerade) or for their little ones to go trick-or-treating, but did you know there are many folks who consider costuming their hobby, even their calling?

 Some call it "cosplay." (I think of that as acting out a particular anime or fictional character.)  But many others think of themselves as simply "costumers" who enjoy creating their own unique characters and bringing them to life.

One of the best places to witness the wonders of costuming is at a science fiction convention such as Archon, but not all the characters you'll see there come to life are necessarily sci-fi or fantasy related. The one thread that holds all costumers together is their sense of wonder and sense of fun. I mean, what could be more fun than pretending to be a fantastical creature or zany character you've imagined and realized with your own talents at the sewing machine or table saw? 

Enjoy the photos and feel inspired. Have a safe and Happy Halloween, too.

From Star Trek to Doctor Who... It's always great to see the classics of science fiction at Archon!

I Got the Doctor Who Let Down Blues

                                                              

I Got the Doctor Who Let Down Blues

by Cynthianna

The tension has been building up for months now—eight months to be precise. The new season of Doctor Who with a new actor in the title role has been touted since last Christmas with only crumbs dropped now and then to feed the fans’ rabid appetite for news and gossip. Big kudos go out to the BBC marketing department for their expert dangling of the carrot in front of the fervent fans and for preventing our attention from ever wandering too far. The Beeb promised us a mind-blowing, landmark-making, scrumpdillyupmptious sci-fi/fantasy event of unbelievable proportions. In the last couple of weeks Whovians were whipped into a frenzy further with the Doctor Who World Tour featuring the main actors and creators of the show. (Once again, kudos to the BBC marketing department.) Doctor Who fans have bemoaned the long wait but they were totally and sincerely psyched when at last the big day, August 23, finally arrived.

I guess it’s only natural after so much whipping up of excitement and expectations, a fan girl might feel a bit let down after actually viewing said long-awaited first episode of the new season. No, you can put the tomatoes away—I adore Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and have no problems with Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara the companion—but I will say I’d hoped for a stronger vehicle for their debut story together. Once again, I don’t fault the actors or the special effects or even the story idea, but I found some very avoidable faults in the scriptwriting that literally set my teeth on edge. (To quote a fan about what made the Matt Smith era seem less than stellar: “Moffat!”)

Where to begin? I don’t want to give spoilers to those who haven’t seen said episode yet, so I will be general in my comments. Also, I will compare and contrast the classics series of Doctor Who to the new series in hopes this will illustrate where I see the newer episodes have lost their luster. If I had to give a one word quote about what I feel the new series of Doctor Who is missing, that word would be “intelligence.”

“Intelligent what?” you may ask. Don’t worry, I’ll get there. Here’s some background first: My husband and I are very fortunate to be able to receive the Retro-TV channel where we live, and since August 4 we’ve been watching nightly episodes of classic Doctor Who, starting with the very first Doctor as portrayed by William Hartnell. Also, this past summer we’ve been checking out DVDs of classic Doctor Who episodes from our local library, having recently watched a number of the third Doctor’s (Jon Pertwee) stories. 

Okay, BBC marketing department this is where you guys might have made a big mistake by asking us to wait eight months for the new season to begin... Those of us who were big fans since the last century have had ample time to re-watch our favorite moments on DVD and broadcast TV. We can leisurely stop and pause our DVDs and discuss what works and what doesn’t in a particular Doctor Who story. Surprisingly, even if we agree that the special effects could have been better in an episode, we very rarely complain that the writing is weak, the characters aren’t realized well, or anything sets our teeth on edge.

Not bad for a sci-fi show whose entire yearly budget in the 1960s - 1980s was no where near what they spend creating just one episode today—even when adjusted for inflation. So, if a bigger budget and flashier special effects don’t make for a better Doctor Who experience, what does? This is where I posit my thoughts on what is currently missing from the series—intelligence. What do you take away from a Doctor Who story? What lesson(s) did you learn? Did you find out anything new about science or history or humanity or yourself?

I know some of the new series fans will argue, “Doctor Who has never been a family friendly show—it’s not about teaching kids things,” but that’s where they’re wrong. All one has to do is go back to the original 1963 proposal for Doctor Who to see that it was created to be a television show for families with school-aged children, and it was to have “teaching moments” scattered through-out its futuristic tales along with facts and insights tossed into the historical storylines. The point I’m making here is that the writing was strong enough to both entertain and enlighten both adults and children. Viewers never felt as if they were being talked down to or manipulated by catch-phrases and multitudes of explosions. (Plus, they never felt as if being a person of faith was somehow suspect, a common theme in the newer series. It's okay if you don't believe in God, Mr. Moffat, but please don't try to purposely offend those who do. It's just plain rude.)

I celebrate fans--not insult them, Steven!

No doubt, the newer series’ emphasis has drifted away from the educational premise. Alas, sometimes it doesn’t even entertain. One can walk away after viewing a new series’ episode and fifteen minutes later totally forget what the premise or point of the story was. Sure, you might remember the Doctor wore a dressing gown or rode a horse or cracked some funny one-liners (possibly of a sexual nature), but nothing stays in your mind of any importance. You don’t feel like the show helped you to think more intelligently. You may not feel that some of the content was appropriate for your six-year-old. Classic Doctor Who writers probably wouldn’t recognize it as the same show anymore.

To clarify, let’s look at the 1973 story, The Green Death. The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and his assistant, Jo Grant, along with his friends at UNIT, are fighting against an international chemical company which is bent on polluting the water supply and killing people (through the infected maggots created) so the corporation and its masters can reap mega-profits. Change “Global Chemical” to “Monsanto” or “Dow” or “Bayer” and this story of how important it is for humanity (with help from the Doctor) to rise up and stop this disaster before it’s too late would make for an episode that is both entertaining and educational and very relevant in the year 2014. Added bonus, once viewers watched such an episode they might actually be motivated to become more environmentally aware and take positive action.

The Third Doctor era can also boast of another intelligent environmental awareness storyline—1970’s Inferno. If you’re alarmed about the increasing earthquakes and ground water pollution caused by hydraulic fracturing or fracking, this is a story that bears close viewing. Even more amazing, the 1964 story Planet of Giants starring the first Doctor deals with a businessman who kills a government official in order to make a fortune off his new pesticide that destroys everything it touches... Recent headlines about “bee-killing” pesticides called neonicotinoids are both shocking and frightening. But can one imagine Doctor Who in 2014 touching upon such a burning topic that could affect life on Earth as we know it?

Intelligent television? Yes, even a fictional TV series can work for the good of humanity. At the very least it could make us all more aware of state of the planet and our impact upon it. Wouldn’t it be better to inspire a new generation of ecologists and astronauts and historians simply than create a mad marketing rush to get the kids to haul ass to Hot Topic to purchase millions of dollars in Doctor Who T-shirts, fezes and bow-ties?

I got the Doctor Who Let Down Blues. I was hoping for more intelligent writing for Peter Capaldi in his new incarnation as the Doctor, but producer Steven Moffat didn’t want to disappoint his perceived audience’s tastes—he kept things on the rather silly level. All I know is that I’m too old to care for discussions about “boyfriends” in the Tardis or learning the funny put-downs the Doctor and his companions will use with each other for the next year. Whatever happened to the Doctor and his companions treating each other with respect and kindness? Are women in the Whovian universe to be seen simply as sex objects?

Case in point: Girls kissing lizards? Who needs it? Not my bag, baby, and I don’t believe that scenes of adult sexuality add anything to a show that should be family friendly, even when it outright refuses to be “educational for school aged children” as the original 1963 show premise states. Silly sex talk—that’s what late-night TV and locker rooms in middle schools are for, isn’t it? Rise above it, please.

Perhaps both George Lucas and Steven Moffat should be banned from attempting to write/produce any of their story ideas ever again. Remember The Phantom Menace, another long-awaited event that proved to be disappointing? These two guys should stick to their strengths and recruit strong writers who can craft intelligent, respectful, and moving storylines without all the adolescent fluff. Who knows—some of these writers could even be adult females?
 
I think the Doctor—with his numerous intelligent and strong female sidekicks—would approve.


Addition, 9-1-14: 

I enjoyed Peter Capaldi's performance as the Doctor in the latest episode (Into the Dalek) much more than in the first story, but Clara is still not a very defined character. She slaps him hard in the face--wow! What sort of "teacher" would strike a "pupil"? I almost think that was producer Steven Moffat's idea of another "funny gimmick", but to me it turned Clara into a bully. I like the idea of the new Doctor needing a "teacher" to help him--just look at the first Doctor with teacher companions Barbara and Ian. They really helped him to learn a lot about himself and humanity. I just wish the producers could keep a consistent tone and skip the gimmicks of slapstick/adult sexuality that Moffat seems to think fits. Doctor Who is a science fiction/fantasy tale--SF lovers tend to be a bit more sophisticated than fans of The Three Stooges. I still feel that Russell T. Davies wrote and supervised much more intelligent scripts.

Doctor Who Middle-Age Madness

At last the BBC announced the next actor to portray the Doctor on science fiction television's longest running series, Doctor Who. It's Peter Capaldi. Yeah!

 I'm thrilled because I think Peter will be excellent in the role. He starred in the David Tennant/Catherine Tate 2008 episode "The Fires of Pompeii". He also played quite a spine-chilling baddie in the spin-off series Torchwood in its "Children of Earth" episodes. I've loved him from the first time I saw him on screen in the wonderfully warm and witty movie comedy Local Hero. What's not to love about an actor who can play heroic, comical and pure evil characters with equal ease?

 

I think the persona of the Doctor needs a good balance of heroic and not-so-heroic traits. After all, he is an alien--he's not human (according to canon). What we puny humans may see as "evil" may not seem that way to him and vice versa. It makes for a very dynamic character, one that is at times unpredictable and at others dependable. It makes for a character that has been extremely popular for a half century now and shows no signs of diminishing in popularity.  

This brings me to the reason behind my blog post title. I really enjoy the idea of watching another "middle-age" Doctor (who, of course, is much older than he looks).  While the current producers may have thought that young people would only watch the show in record numbers with "one of their own" in twenty-something Matt Smith playing the title role, I do believe they've come to realize that it's not the age of the actor that matters but his energy level. I think Peter will have the right energy level in addition to the handsome, distinguished looks that women in  my particular age group will relate to well.

As the old saying goes, "Snow on the roof doesn't mean there isn't a fire in the hearth." ;-)

What does this mean for my alter-ego Cynthiana's ongoing Doctor Who-inspired series Loving Who (and its sequel Leaving Who)? The next title in the series that I'm working on is Losing Who. In a way Peter Capaldi becoming the new Doctor works into the plot outline quite well. Things change. My character Cici Connors experienced an abrupt change in the last installment, so a new face to confront and get to know is just par for the course at this point in her life journey. 

And who knows... Cici might find a good-looking man of a certain age worth getting to know better. ;-)

I'm looking forward to the fiftieth anniversary special coming in November and the Christmas special when Peter's Doctor will make his debut. How about you? Are you excited? Has Doctor Who "middle-age madness" taken hold of you? Or are you still crying about Matt Smith (or David Tennant or Christopher Eccleston or...) leaving the show? What sort of storylines or characters do you envision in the new season episodes? Are there any mortal enemies of the Doctor you'd rather not see?

Let me know your feelings in the comments below. You never know--I might just use one of your ideas in the plot of Losing Who!

Welcome to Nerdvana!

 

Doctor Who, Star Trek, MST3K, Babylon 5...So many fandoms, so little time!

It's like...Nerdvana.

A place where only a science fiction/fantasy fan would dare to tread...A room full of photos and original artworks and figurines and statuettes and autographed books, cards, pictures and even comic books. Yes, it's my new office. And I love it.

It's Cyberman vs. Dalek in a War of the Worlds!

I am a card-carrying nerd. I even have the fan club card to prove it! I actually belonged to the original Findlay College Sci-Fi Club. I'm not sure if the club is still in existence, but the school is now called "University of..." and has a lot more students, so perhaps they have an anime club at the very least? It would be nice to find out if they're any Whovians attending currently.

And I have proof of being a nerd since...forever! Notice my 8th grade card. All A's and nice comments in English and Social Studies. Okay, I got a B in P.E. Yeah, I showed up to gym class, but I was probably bored out of my gourd most of the time and sat in the corner reading a book--a classic sci-fi novel probably. (I was big into H.G. Wells and Robert Heinlein about that time.) That's a nerd for you!

Some of my original cross-stitch work. Do you remember Avon's quote from  
Blake's 7?

It's been fun traveling down Memory Lane while we unpack and move into our new digs. In the bottom of long-ago packed boxes I've found my autographed photos of Colin Baker (The Sixth Doctor), Anthony Ainley (The Master) and George Takei (Sulu). My hubby and I have had a great time trying to find places to show off our favorite SF artists' creations, too. We have three Tempest at Hazard prints from Paul Daly hanging in the office and two Jon Kaufman's hanging in the living room. Nerdvana just keeps growing and going... and even in the more "mundane" rooms of our home there's usually a nod or two to our passion for SF fandom. Because once a nerd--always a nerd!

A "Pair-of-Docs" by Jon Sies and "Little Horsie Who #6" by Michelle Rondeau. Some original art I haven't been able to hang on the wall for years. Now I have a whole room (and more) to hang all my favorite SF inspired artworks!

Where and how do you display your fan memorabilia? Do you have your own Nerdvana? Tell us all about it in the comments section so we can drool over your SF/fantasy collections! C'mon! You know you wanna... you have to... because you're a NERD, baby, and proud of it!

LEAVING WHO has finally arrived...

LOVING WHO has finally arrived and is ready for sale at Mojocastle Press. Once again, here are the short synopsis and link:

LEAVING WHO
by Cynthianna
Mojocastle Press
http://www.mojocastle.com/authors/cynthianna/leaving-who.html

After touring the universe with time traveler John Smith, Cici Connors wants one more thing--to go home. Will the imminent destruction of Earth throw a kink into her plans?

You can read excerpts from LEAVING WHO at Mojocastle's web site and at this blog, in the posting right before this one.

Also, you can read a very nice interview I did at Wanton Reads this week. Find out why I write what I write (if you dare). ;)

http://wantonreads.com/author-cynthianna-shares-their-story/

Enjoy! (I sincerely hope your spring weather is as nice as ours was today, too.)

Cynthianna (Celine's other half)

Calling all Doctor Who fans...

The long awaited sequel to my mainstream persona's Doctor Who inspired novel, Loving Who, has finally arrived. Leaving Who picks up the story of John Smith and Cici Connors, the universe's most unlikely time-traveling duo.

Leaving Who is available at Mojocastle Press

After touring the universe with time traveler John Smith, Cici Connors wants one more thing—to go home. Will the imminent destruction of Earth throw a kink into her plans?

Read a short excerpt of it at the Confessions of a Blonde Writer blog by clicking the link or copying the URL below into your browser:
http://momsday.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-sneak-peek-at-leaving-who.html?spref=fb

Update: Due to technical factors beyond even a Time Lord's control, the release date for Leaving Who is now scheduled for April 28, 2013. My apologies for the wait. And remember, fezes are cool. ;)

Book review: State of Change

Doctor Who: State of Change by Christopher Bulis


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


There were never enough stories featuring the sixth Doctor and Peri, in my humble opinion, so the chance of reading one of their "missing adventures" is something I couldn't pass up. I enjoyed most of STATE OF CHANGE and really give kudos to Christopher Bulis for his expert research in ancient Rome. The apparent "Roman world" that the Doctor and Peri find themselves transported to is very realistic, and the mortal peril they encounter is well presented. My one complaint is that I never felt that the Doctor and Peri were that important in the scheme of things... There are many, many characters--all of them interesting in their own right--but I longed for more pages featuring interactions with Peri and the brightly dressed Doctor alone. Still, on the whole, a very well written novel that is sure to please fans of the classic series.




View all my reviews

See you Archon

We're off to Archon tomorrow morning. My first panel is at the noon hour, so I hope there will be some folks able to get off work early enough to keep us on the panel company! But seriously, I'm looking forward to seeing the many folks that I only get to see in person once a year. So, please come by and shake my hand and chat when you spot me in the halls. If I'm running in the halls--well, I'm probably late for a panel or I drank too much bottled water, so you might want to wait and shake my hand later. ;)

I will have promo bookmarks and brochures to pass out. Dig my cover design (still in the preliminary stages) above for the upcoming sequel to my romantic-comedy novel Loving Who, the aptly named Leaving Who. My handsome and talented artist/author hubby, AJ Matthews, created it.

To quote the great Matt Smith: "Fezes are cool." And so are my readers. See you soon!

The Response to "Archon Hear a Who"

To keep the Doctor Who fans I wrote about in my last posting abreast of what's happening with our suggesting a Doctor Who media guest to attend a future Archon, here is a reply on an open St. Louis SF fandom email list from the media guest liaison:

Yes, for those of you who missed all the Facebook fun, this blog was absolutely innaccurate. Obviously the writer decided she had a great hook with the 'Horton Hears a Who' tie in, without really bothering to do any research to see if anything she wrote was actually TRUE.

No, we (Archon) have not been contacted by anyone at BBC America, these guests, or their representation. And as Van so aptly pointed out, seriously, if they were calling us saying 'can we please come' what do you think would be happening? It sure as heck wouldn't be Archon saying, 'yeah, thanks but no, we're good'.

Could we get a Dr Who guest in future? Sure, maybe we can work that out. If anyone would have come to me and said, 'Hey, we'd love a Dr. Who guest, and maybe we can even work out some fundraising to help support it' I'd have been their new best friend. I love Dr. Who. But this was handled SO badly that it honestly makes me want to not look too hard into it in the near future because I don't want to encourage this kind of attrocious behavior by anyone else.

Not saying that I WON'T look into it, just saying that this whole mess has put a bad taste in my mouth about the idea. I'll probably be over it before we go hunting for a guest next year. :)

Mary
Archon Media Guest Liaison

Here was my response on this same email list:

Thank you, Katrina, for your fair assessment of the events. My blog posting was never meant as a personal attack against any individual involved with Archon. It was a call to Doctor Who fans to make our voices heard. I believe this is an exercise of freedom of speech. If we are bullied into keeping quiet because it contradicts another person's opinion, then who benefits?

If you read the piece, you'd see I know of persons with direct contacts within  the BBC that live in the St. Louis area. I see now why they were shy about making their points known to the general Archon community--they would be accused of being "liars" as well. I did not once mention Ms. Stadter's name in the blog
article (I had no clue who or what group is in charge of media guests), and I never once insinuated that what she said was not "true". Yet I open my email digest today and see that I'm being called essentially a liar. I only wrote about what I was told on good authority. It is my personal blog and my friends are allowed to talk to me if they so desire. I write on topics when I feel like
it could be of help to my friends. Please don't malign the messenger if you don't care for the message.

I do not appreciate being told I am trying to start controversy within STL  fandom. It is beyond my comprehension why anyone would take a blog posting so seriously. I will not take such unfounded accusations as a personal attack from the Archon board members. But I will sincerely appreciate if the personal attacks cease and desist forthwith. Nobody wins in these situations.

That's all I'm going to say on the matter. In the many years I've been a SF fan,  I've never met a fan I didn't like. I think the general Archon community would say the same. I hate to painted as being a "not-so-nice Doctor Who fan" for future reference to people who don't really know me as a human being. There is enough hatred and hate speech in the world nowadays. Let's try to keep fandom a
happy and supportive place for all to share their thoughts and opinions without fear of bullying or maligning of character.

Thank you for listening.

And that's all I'm going to write on the matter. Yes, it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. I've always been a great supporter of Archon and fandom in general, but obviously I'm not to everyone's tastes. So be it. You can't please everyone, so they will have to learn to live with me and move on. 

I have more important things on my plate. We're going out of state to visit my mother this weekend and see how she is doing in her new assisted living apartment. I had thought about writing some more about coping with a loved one with cancer, but thought I could use a break and take some time to write on lighter topics for a while. Obviously, my beloved Doctor Who is not a light enough topic. Go figure!


Your kind wishes, comments and prayers on my and my mother's behalf are always welcome. Let's try to build each other up in this life: I think we all realize just how short it is and what really matters.

Archon Rocks!

Archon Rocks!

I’m back from the exhausting (yet exhilarating) weekend that is the annual Archon SF convention… Yet another fix of super sci-fi fandom successfully obtained.

I spoke on a few panels, handsome hubby sold quite a few Doctor Who inspired artworks, we passed out some promo items and took a lot of photos of some very interesting characters. You may even glimpse one or two in an upcoming Brandi Whyne adventure. You never know where inspiration may hit!

The best thing about Archon are the people (both in and out of costume). Many of the guests graciously give you freebies, too—and anime guest of honor Sonny Strait was one of these wonderful givers. Sonny is an anime actor, writer and director who does the voice of Krillin on Dragonball Z as well as a Manga artist and musician. Quite the Renaissance man! He gave out free CD’s of rock music recorded by his band Chin's Mojo. Imagine my delight at the title of one song, Makin’ Love to Celine. (Okay, I believe the song is about making out while Celine Dion music blares in the background, but hey! I like my own interpretation of the title better. Great tune, by the way.)

Check out Chin's Mojo at their web site or Facebook and see if you don’t agree that anime artists don’t make great rockers. And to all my friends and family at Archon—rock on!

Smiling Assassin Presents...

The hubby and I finally did it!

Check out our new video showcasing some of our most original and functional designs for the most discriminating SF/Fantasy/Steampunk enthusiast:


Smiling Assassin Presents...




Enjoy! (And don't forget to contact us early with your holiday orders.) ;)

http://www.smilingassassin.com

"Original and Functional art for gamers and SF fans"

Love, Fun and Fantasy in Loving Who!

Although this fantasy novel isn't quite as spicy as my erotic-romance Celine titles, there's plenty of "action" in this fun "fiction about fans" available now from Mojocastle Press.


LOVING WHO
by Cynthianna
ISBN: 1-60180-075-4
http://www.mojocastle.com/celine/lovingwho.html

The man...the magic...the movie? Screwball romantic-comedy meets the world of Doctor Who fandom. Cici Connor's life will never be the same when she takes John Smith, a mysterious Brit, into her bed and her life begins to change... possibly for the better. After all, how many alien assassins tracking her does one girl need?

Available now in e-formats... and hopefully soon in trade paperback edition. Thing is, the more e-copies it sells off the blocks, the faster the print version is released by my publisher, so don't wait! Buy yours today.

(Feel free to pass this book release announcement on to other Doctor Who fans. Thanks!)


Celine Chatillon writing as Cynthianna
http://www.cynthianna.com
Boldly going where no one genre has gone before!