Apollo's Rebellion

After much anticipation the new episode of Doctor Who aired yesterday and what an episode it was. In this episode the Doctor is more dejected and refuses to help in anyway possible. He knows that there is something sinister going on, but he is still adamant on not helping "Team Vastra" as they've been dubbed by fans. There is, however, one person who can change all that... (Warning! Spoilers ahead)

This year's Christmas special brought about a whole lot of news. New TARDIS interior, new companion and a new title sequence and theme tune, but I'll get to that later. Firstly let's begin with the story line.
It all starts with a little boy who excludes himself from the kids. Probably because he doesn't like them or more so maybe because they don't understand him or maybe he prefers his own company. For whatever reason, this telepathic snow chooses little Walter Simeon to mirror. 50 years later and Walter and his giant snow globe are trying to take over the world one snowman at a time. It's a classic Doctor Who villain story and Richard E Grant makes a perfect Dr Simeon, but the person who stole the show was none other than Jenna-Louise Coleman. She is such a superb actress and Clara is a no nonsense kind of girl. Barmaid by night and prim governess by day, Clara is just the perfect type of person to bring the Doctor back from the sad place he entered when Amy and Rory left. Clara, like most of us, is very curious and she is also very brave. One of the first things she does is chase after the Doctor's coach and pop her head through the roof as well as following the Doctor to his TARDIS in the sky. Jenna-Louise Coleman is perfect at playing her, but I'll get back to that in a minute.

Moving onto Team Vastra. It took me a while to get used to Vastra, Jenny and Strax and, although I liked their parts in A Good Man Goes to War I wasn't sure if I would like to see them return, but I quickly warmed up to them. Vastra and Jenny are such a good pairing and to me it doesn't seem at all weird that Vastra is a lizard woman let alone lesbian. The thing that bothered me was seeing two of the Doctor's enemies become his friends, still Strax brings a humorous side to the episode and I like that Vastra is also nicknamed the Great Detective. Speaking of detectives there are multiple Sherlock Holmes references in the episode from Dr Simeon mentioning a "Dr Doyle" to the Doctor wearing a deerstalker and going under the alias of Sherlock Holmes. It was almost like Steven Moffat's way of saying this is the closest thing you're going to get  to the Doctor and the famed detective. (Just a little side note the Doctor has dressed up as Sherlock Holmes before.)

This Christmas special was possibly one of my favourites, it was humorous, sad, captivating and played out like an hour long movie, but the biggest mystery came at the end when the Doctor realised Clara's full name (Clara Oswin Oswald) and he set about trying to find her. The episode ends wonderfully with Clara (or Oswin or Jenna or whatever you wanna call her) standing over her tombstone in modern day England. This sets in motion the rest of series and I can only assume that the Doctor finds her soon after that because she is wearing similar clothes to some of the behind the scenes pictures.

Anyway, getting back to review at hand. Let's move on to the "news":
New title sequence and theme tune: I had to watch this twice to fully grasp everything about it. I have two words: Classic Who. It reminds me so much of the classic series, but is also up dated and somehow feels modern. I like the new arrangement of the theme and it gives the show a bit more of mystery-thriller atmosphere which it sometimes is, but it stills feels like it had that adventure to it. The only problem I have with the new title sequence is that it's a bit too red for me, but that's just me.
New TARDIS interior: I don't like it. I can live with, but I don't like it. After making the TARDIS into a living breathing person, you can't all of sudden make it into an odd metallic machine! The TARDIS felt so homely and welcoming before, but now it feels more like something that is just transport. The TARDIS isn't just transport it's a whole world inside a 1960's police box! Yeah, it might take me a while to get used to this new interior.

How could you not fall in love?

New companion: I love her. She is wonderful. Truthfully, I liked Karen and I liked Amy, but there were times when I didn't like Amy. I didn't like the way she treated Rory and occasionally tossed him aside, but then the next minute she's proclaiming her love for him. Clara, I can say, is no Amelia Pond. She's fun, clever and extremely good looking. She's also really good with kids. Clara is the only person able to get the Doctor back to his good ol' ways and with just one word: Pond. Her entire interview with Vastra is fantastic and quirky. As you probably know this isn't the first time Jenna-Louise Coleman's appeared in Doctor Who and the mystery of her character is further investigated. She's a face that keeps cropping up everywhere and keeps dying. I hope the dying stops, though, I don't want another repeat of Rory. Oh and did I mention, "It's smaller on the outside."

The episode was wonderful. It kept me engrossed and it wasn't bordering on too dramatic. It was well thought out and not lazily written like some previous episode. After a somewhat disappointing series 7 part 1 and one of the most annoying companion send-offs, it was nice to see Steven Moffat and Matt Smith back on top form and keeping me entertained.

Quite recently, my sister asked me to find a good photo editing software or website that she could use to add effects to some of her pictures. The one website we used to use was Picnik, but is moved to Google+ and so began my journey across the entire worldwide web to find the perfect photo editing tools and programs.

The BeFunky image edited with another on CS5.

Before and after comparison of the two images.

Behind the Scenes: The Crimson Horror

I also had some fun making this gif image of some promotional pictures from the Christmas Special. 


Another website I used was pixlr-o-matic and I even have the program on my computer. You can also use it on Facebook, Google Chrome (as an app) or on your iOS or Android device. It quickly edited the picture below to show off a bit of what it can do. It only adds effects, overlays and frames, but it is fun to use and the effects are wonderful.

Behind the Scenes: Time of the Angels

Black and white picture of Matt for luck

Everybody Lies.

A Beautiful Lie is set in India, 1947 during the partition and birth of Pakistan. It follows the story of a young boy named Bilal and the lengths he goes to to protect his ailing father from the outside world. Bilal's father, who he affectionately calls Bapuji, is a very strong-minded person and Bilal knows that the political situation in India will almost tear his father apart. So he decides to lie instead. He enlists the help of his three friends, Chota, Saleem and Majeet, to help him keep up this lie. The biggest thing Bilal is worried about is that the many visitors that Bapuji gets will tell him the truth, so, while Bilal is in school Chota will keep a watch on his house and, if he saw anyone approaching it, he would give Bilal a warning. This system works well, but then the lies start getting bigger and the truth becomes blurred.

Written in 1892 by William Ernest Henley, Invictus is a poem about a man's struggle against life's toughest opponents. When Henley was 17 he had to amputate his foot due the contraction of tuberculosis of the bone when he was 12. Shortly after his affected foot was amputated he received news that another operation must be done on his other leg. He enlisted the help of a another doctor, Joseph Lister, and he was able to keep his other leg by undergoing intensive surgery on the foot. 

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul. 

In school, we are watching the movie Invictus directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. The movie is set in South Africa during the 1995 Rugby World Cup. It shows the tension  on and off the field as a nation struggles to unite after Apartheid. As a South African, this movie makes me feel proud of who I am and my heritage. I first watched the movie with my dad and he was telling me about things that happened during the matches and even some stories about Apartheid. In the movie, Nelson Mandela recites the poem Invictus and tells Francois Pienaar that it gave him inspiration while his was in prison at Robben Island. He says, "It taught me to stand when all I wanted to do was lie down." This is the exact same thought I had when I read the poem. Quite recently, I've been going through a very rough time. In school I'm not doing as well as I want to (especially in English) and since I'm entering my matric year next year, I have to start thinking about possible career choices.

 All my life I've wanted to write and it seems that this year is the year that everyone decided to kick me while I'm down. Everyone suddenly wants to become a journalist or writer now and I feel like I'm getting lost in a sea of loud, overbearing people who are better than me. I was so unsure about myself that I started to doubt my abilities. I tried everything to get myself out of this rut, but nothing seemed to work, except for this poem. This poem is about standing tall and being confident about yourself. It is about determining your own future and not letting others dictate it for you. I realise that my fate is whatever I want it to be and I will work hard to achieve it.

This first line that caught my attention was "...for my unconquerable soul." It implies that your soul can't be destroyed, it cannot be bruised or broken like your body. Your soul is able to heal itself and no one can defeat it. "My head is bloody, but unbowed." No matter how many times you beat me up, not even when I'm bleeding and in pain, I will still stand strong. I will hold my head up high and I will not accept defeat. I will keep fighting until the end.

Even though my struggle isn't as big as the one faced by Nelson Mandela and even though I still have my entire life to live, I have found inspiration in these words and, whenever I am going through a tough time, I will keep coming back to this poem because I am the master of my fate and I am the captain of my soul.

Doc Brown’s De Lorean, the Doctor’s TARDIS, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. What do they all have in common? Besides the fact that they’re all a work of fiction, they also deal with time travel.

Irene Adler is one of the most famous woman in literary history. Known as the only woman to attract the interest of Sherlock Holmes, Irene first appeared in the short story A Scandal in Bohemia in the novel The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. This was the very first Sherlock Holmes story I had ever read which made me very interested with the character of Irene Adler. She is known as the only woman to beat Sherlock which elevates his admiration and respect for her. We only get a brief background of Irene but that makes her mysterious.

Will the real Irene please stand up.

In my opinion Irene should just be in A Scandal in Bohemia and left at that. I feel now with more adaptions of Sherlock Holmes comes the possibility of Irene being in them. I dislike that. People don't know enough about Irene's character to bring her into adaptions. In the Guy Ritchie version of Sherlock Holmes Irene is shown to be a skilled thief and has "mutual romantic feelings" towards Sherlock. It was never stated in the book that Sherlock ever had "romantic feelings" towards Irene Adler. He had an admiration for her but never anything more than that. Sherlock is a masterful detective who would never let something like a love for a woman get between him and his job. In the film it does. He is tricked by her and she runs off again.

Another example is the BBC's modern adaption of Sherlock Holmes titled Sherlock written by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. Irene first appeared in the episode A Scandal in Belgravia  where she is a dominatrix who serves high-end clients. The episode, written by Steven Moffat, has received criticism for the exist portrayal of Irene Adler. I have not seen the episode yet (wake up, BBC South Africa!)  but the few clips I have seen almost shocked me. One of the first clips I saw was of Irene naked and talking to Sherlock on a couch. The first thing I thought was, "Great, the only strong woman character and you make her into some sort of sex symbol. Why, Moffat, why?" but seriously though, why? Irene was one of the only female characters I looked up to and now you make her into mistress who could possibly be bi. To me Irene was a smart and witty character. She saw past Sherlock's disguise and she got away before he could catch her again. I wanted to be as clever as her: the woman who outwitted Sherlock Holmes and got away with it. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle showed people that woman can be as smart as men and sometimes even smarter. Irene was an equal to Sherlock and that's what made her so well-loved.

There have been other adaptions of Sherlock Holmes which brings in the character of Irene Adler just because she is "The woman". A Russia adaption of Sherlock Holmes has introduced Irene Adler just because she was popular in the Guy Ritchie version. In a 2007 production called Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars she is shown as one of Sherlock's arch enemies. If she isn't a love interest then she's an enemy. Why can't Irene just be "The Woman" and left at that? I feel as if my favourite character is being murdered over and over again. This is my plea to anyone who wants to introduced Irene into their own adaptions. Please keep her true to the story, don't try to change her. Or, better yet, don't introduce Irene Adler. She stays within the pages of A Scandal in Bohemia written by the only person who knows her: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Sources:
http://stavvers.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/irene-adler-how-to-butcher-a-brilliant-woman-character/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Adler
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_(TV_series)


Update:
I have watched 'Scandal in Belgravia' and I have to say that I didn't like Irene as much as I wanted to. I didn't particularly like the fact that she sold her body and I also didn't like that she had to get help from Moriarty. I'll tell what I did like: her passion and her brains. Which irks me more because she chooses to swap her intelligence for a job that demeans women. All in all I loved the episode and it did keep me on the edge of my seat at times. I always like when I can solve the case with Sherlock and this episode provided enough for me to figure out. Also the score was fantastic.

Doctor Who is an iconic British television program that has been around for almost half a century.Although it is a science fiction program it deals with real life matters and problems.I have laughed and cried but most of all I have learnt. In this article I'll be focusing on the humorous aspects as well as real life problems. Here are a few things that I've learnt from watching the Revival Series of Doctor Who:

1. I Should Probably Hit The Gym 
With Earth being recognized more and more by aliens it should be a good idea to be as physically fit as you can. Running helps. Who knows, maybe one day while I’m working in a massive retail store I might need to run from the mannequins that are now trying to attack me or maybe I’ll have to outrun creepy stone angels that only move when I look away. Basically, running is vital if you want to live. Like Donna said, “Seriously, there’s an outrageous amount of running involved.”

2. Gingers Are Badass 
There’s nothing more badass than a strong willed ginger who knows what they want. Donna, the biggest loud mouth ever, paved the way for gingers everywhere. Her fiery hair reflected her fiery personality giving new meaning to the term “temp”. Plus she was one of the only companions that didn’t fall for the Doctor’s tricks immediately (Rory being the other one: “It’s another dimension.”). Amy Pond is not afraid to speak her mind and her curiosity makes her all the more loveable. She’s not afraid of going into a restricted zone or facing a Dalek. Yes, sometimes she does get into trouble but, then again, how many of us can say that we’ve meet Vincent van Gogh? She’s a ginger nothing can get in her way.

3. Travelling Through Time And Space Could Lead To Danger 
 Everywhere the Doctor seems to go trouble always follows. “Let’s go to 1930’s New York. Nothing could go wrong!” or “I hear the planet Midnight is great. Why don’t we stop by?” There always seems to be an endless supply of aliens trying to attack other planets or attempting (and failing) to evolve. Fact of the matter is Space + Time = Danger. Or maybe travelling with the Doctor equals danger. Either way, make sure you know how to fight off an alien with a water pistol or a plank of wood.

4. The TARDIS is Awesome 

Awesome, right?

“Oh that box, Amy, you’ll dream about that box. It’ll never leave you.” Oh how right you are, Doctor. There have been many countless nights where I’ve gone to bed straight after watching Doctor Who and almost every time I’ve dreamt about the TARDIS. There was even one time when I thought I could the “TARDIS noise” right outside my window. It has such a distinct sound that my sister and I can identify it from a mile away. Yes, just like Mickey and Jackie. It’s a big blue box that’s bigger on the inside, it (sorry! She) has a heart and soul. The TARDIS is a magical box that can never be replaced or upgraded into something new. She is a timeless classic.

5. Not All Aliens Are Bad 
Our prime example being the Doctor but also Jabe from the second episode of the New Series or the Star Whale that just wanted to help the people of the UK. Some aliens are as ignorant of us as we are of them. They just want to live their lives happily the same way we want to. It has taught me that not all aliens are little green men and I shouldn’t be scared of all of them, but if they have plans to attack the Earth then you better run for your life.

6. Never Trust A Good Looking Prime Minister 
Because he’s probably a raging psychopath alien with a desire to take over the Earth just because he wants to. The Master: a man who used to be friends with the Doctor but is now his worst enemy. He is good looking and not to be trusted at all. He’s brainwashed everyone with the Archangel signal and he still looks charming. The first thing you should think about when choosing a possible Prime Minister is his age (if he’s old and ugly he’s your man) don’t go for anyone that’s hot because you might end up being killed by your descendants.

7. The Doctor Likes To Meddle 
He’s always in place he should never be and he’s always doing stuff he never should but he still does it. The Doctor always let’s his curiosity get the best of him. There are lights flickering in Craig’s neighbourhood, “I should probably leave.” But does he? No, he doesn’t! He just walks right into danger. “I’ll just leave Martha back at home! But that man just said he was going change what it meant to be human, I have to find out what he meant!” He is always tasting stuff he shouldn’t be tasting and going to places he shouldn’t be going. The Doctor is inquisitive and no amount of companions could stop him from meddling.

8. Murray Gold Is A Song Writing Genius 
If you watch Doctor Who and don’t know who Murray Gold is then you don’t deserve to be watching it. Murray Gold is the composer for the show and he comes up with most of the musical score in it. You know the Eleventh Doctor’s famous melody? Murray wrote that. One minute he could be composing for an action packed scene with aliens shooting at the Doctor and his companions and the next minute he’ll be scoring the most emotional scene ever. Sometimes he has to do it all in one scene. Being a composer for Doctor Who is challenging because you have to be versatile with the music. There are heart-breaking moments and parts where you just can’t stop laughing (fish custard) and action sequences that all need to be scored by one person. Murray achieves all of this in one episode and he never fails to amaze me. He is probably the only person who can reduce me to tears with a two minute long tune.

Some of the enemies the Doctor has faced in cute cartoon form.

9. Life Is Pretty Dull 
Enter the “I hate my life” phase. After watching Doctor Who and experiencing all these great new things ordinary life seems so dull. Yes, I know it’s just fiction but it still grips you and makes you believe that you could do anything with your life. Like Rose said, “What do I do now? Wake up, go to work, come home, and eat chips and sleep.” Compared to what she has seen normal life is just so boring. There is a part of me that doesn't want the life Rose had to go back to, it has taught me that if something good is going to happen I should probably make it happen. Rose does that it the exact same episode she realises that real life is boring but she's the only one who can change it.

10. Violence Is Never The Answer 
Being a show aimed at the whole family, Doctor Who teaches us that violence doesn’t solve much. One of the principles the Doctor lives by is no violence whatsoever. He is there to help but don’t give him a gun. He try’s his best to fight using words and he never wants to see his enemy die (unless it’s a Dalek). He’s got all this rage within him but he will try his hardest not to lash out at anyone. Still suffering from the time war, he goes the extra mile to prevent anyone’s death. Like when he saved River Song into the Computer or he tried to stop the death of Adelaide Brooke. He has shown me that battles don’t have to be won with fist, guns or swords and that if you sit down and talk like civilized human beings you will achieve so much more.