Ancient and the bluest blue

[feathersandfractals]

OK. I’ll admit it. I’m not a big fan of Neil Gaiman. This marks me out as a pariah in the world of SF&F, apparently, because Mr Gaiman can do no wrong.

Please don’t misunderstand me: it’s not that I think his work is rubbish. I quite enjoyed the early Sandman graphic novels. It’s just that, well, I think he is over-hyped. He doesn’t do it for me in the way Pratchett does, for instance. He doesn’t do it for me in the way Grant Morrison does. He doesn’t do it for me the way Warren Ellis does. Or Alan Moore (when he’s on form). That’s just my opinion and I’m sure he’d be the first to say I’m entitled to it. He’s the one making all the money, and I can’t imagine him giving a monkey’s uncle what I think one way or the other.

And yet, despite this, The Doctor’s Wife was the only episode of the current series I really enjoyed. I loved the emphasis on and exploration of the relationship between the Doctor and the big blue box that means so much to him. I liked the banter, which had been sorely missing since… pretty much since the Lodger back in Series 5 (River’s “What time do you call this?” was good, but not enough).

But… Oh, there’s always a but.

You know what? The sign on the door that says pull to open? That refers to the cupboard where the phone is kept, not the door to the police box. Look at the door design and the location of the hinges. The door can’t open outwards. Maybe TARDIS doors are supposed to open outwards, like fire doors are, but police box doors don’t because they can’t.

Can I say “Did not do the research” about Neil Gaiman? Seems a bit churlish given that he wrote the only episode of the current series I thought was any good.

Here’s a picture of Fingal next to an original police box:

We have a lot of police boxes in Edinburgh. They make me sad, because so many of them are in such a terrible state. This is what the Doctor’s TARDIS would have ended up looking like, I think, if House had had his way and no one had mentioned her being the last one.

Originally published at Singularity. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[n-decisive.livejournal.com]

I'm not afraid to admit that I feel the same way about Mr. Gaiman. I think I might have been one of the few that thought his episode of Dr. Who was just okay, as opposed to OMGSQUEETHEBESTTHINGEVAR!!!11!

Would it be alright if I picked your brain about running? I want to start again soon...

[ravenbait.livejournal.com]

Of course you can!

Although I'm in the process of re-learning myself.

[n-decisive.livejournal.com]

You're relearning, too, eh? Sorry to hear that. I keep trying to get started, but I think I'll need to wait until Autumn as my asthma doesn't like the crap air quality we've had so far this summer.

What I'm wondering is whether or not you found that a particular kind of shoe was better for keeping the whole foot/ankle area stable and less likely to over-absorb shock? These are my doctor's biggest areas of concern with me wanting to run again, and I share them to an extent. Also, do you have anything in particular you do to get through any pain you have (pain that's dull, throbbing, or constant, but not the kind that says you've screwed up something internal to a point that must be addressed)?

Despite having less of a pain tolerance than I used to, I can handle about 3 weeks of the constant, lower-level stuff before wanting to be put down. After that- minus heavy meds- I'm not really sure what to do to get past it.

Lastly, what do you normally do to warm up? Just basic stretches, or something beyond that?

(Thank you!)