New, new, new...

It’s amazing that so much flurry is storming regarding the latest trailer for the upcoming fifth season of Doctor Who. In a way, it is being reborn. Many possibilities here.

New Doctor. A new writer. New ideas.

That’s the recipe for the series’ long survival on television which is going to be hitting its fiftieth in a few short years. Now, with new lead being anchored into the show, there’s more interest.
So what’s to expect from the new trailer? We have just seen in less than a minute so many glimpses… frantic, like a flood of excitement is running off the well paced scenes.

Matt Smith, now the eleventh actor, will be joining the elite family of Who. His presence seems to be fitting in rather well and I think he’ll be pretty good far as I can tell from the small bits in the trailer. There are many people who seems to hate him saying, “He’s terrible!” Without actually seeing him in action. This is the expected round of comments people make when a new actor settled in. Remember how people reacted to David Tennant when he took over in the part thinking it’ll never work? And he stuck around for four years.

Out with the old, in with the new. It’s simply making a new format out of something familiar. Though I do admit the actor Matt Smith is frightfully young at age twenty-six, I do hope it works out well for him.

Give this guy a chance. That’s all I’m asking. I have my doubts too. But I’m not going to put him down until I see him for sure in a few episodes. Then he’ll grow on me. Just like the other actors did.

Many people complain that it looks like a Buffy rip-off because of the young actors. This isn’t true. Many people forget that the original front runner writer Russell T. Davies was inspired by the writings and plots of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series created by Joss Whedon.

So what else did we see in the trailer? The Doctor punching out a guy with his fist followed by an expression on his face reading, “I’m sorry!” None of the actors so far playing the Doctor in the new series decked someone. This is a first. There are also a lizard like race along with some scary looking mask made of wood twirling around like a crude circus act enough to give kids nightmares. There’s the Doctor hitting a Dalek with a hammer. There is the returning Weeping Angels. There are vampires dressed in Tudor styled clothing, which I’m looking forward to. And there’s an Errol Flynn type of swordsmen too.

Oh yes, there’s even a new design for the time/space machine that carried the Doctor into the far wonders of the universe. There’s going to be huge developments here.

Some people complained about the Doctor using a gun in the trailer, and you never hear the end of their cussing and whining. This isn’t new however. The Doctor has used a gun before. Christopher Eccleston used a gun on one occasion. Actors Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker and Peter Davison in their respective role has lifted a gun as well without making an issue of it. And I do remember Colin Baker, in a violent fit, actually shooting a gun at someone or something at one time in the episode “Attack of the Cybermen.”

So people are going to need to calm down. Who knows? Matt Smith looks like he’s using a flare gun in the trailer and might be shooting it out into the sky for all I know. People are just going to need to see the episodes before jumping to conclusions.

Few folks are complaining about the use of Daleks in the new series. They’re being “overused” according to their complaints. They’re saying, “Why don’t they use something else?”

Well, they did try to get rid of the Daleks once before in the old series way back in 1966 after its long and crazy popularity overshadowed all the other villains. This is a known fact because the Daleks disappeared for five years without so much a trace before they returned to the series because their popularity demanded it. There’s no getting away from them. They are simply too much of a familiar institute to be ignored. I wish folks would understand that.

Besides they may only appear in one episode. I don’t consider the Daleks being overused if for one episode.

Now the writers will be flooding the series with more ideas. Richard Curtis of Black Adder fame will be penning a historical episode involving Van Gogh. There will be returning favorites such as Mark Gatiss, Gareth Roberts and Toby Whithouse. The show looks like it is steeped in horror elements. Such things like vampires and the weeping angels suggests a full blown return to the gothic days which made the Tom Baker days so popular in the mid-1970s. I like this idea because I’m a big horror fan of old and new, and it’s always good to create stories to scare the wits out of the audiences. It’s always in good fun. And Doctor Who made the best use of the horror format.

Most importantly, Stephen Moffat will be heading the front lines as the new series writer. This makes for perfection. The guy already won three Hugo awards for his various stories written for Doctor Who. Winning three Hugos in a row is nearly unheard of. He’s created the Capt. Jack character way back in 2005 who is one of the most memorable characters. The guy will bring so much to the new series. I’m looking forward to this. Moffat will be writing six shows for the new series which is a substantial chunk. So he’ll dedicate a huge part of his life to the creation of the new Doctor Who series.

There’s always going to be doubt when the new reins step in to take over. Some people can’t handle changes. But change has always been a good thing for the series. So there’ll be new surprises. More thrills. I can’t wait to see the delightful mix of science fiction and horror finding a new home on the Doctor Who series again starting in May.

I’ll be breaking out the bowl of jelly babies and the long scarf when the new show comes around.
It’s going to be a long wait.

The Dragon's Game

I’m not much of a game player. Not really. At most, I would buy between three to five games a year depending on who puts them out. Sometimes not even that many.

But everything good and proper points me to getting the game “Dragon Age Origins” merely a short while after it hit the shelves. There is only one word labeled on it that sold me on the product: BioWare.

That was it. BioWare are the gods of gaming. And now I got the game in my hands and got swept into the high octave fantasy elements in the game that is a fine blend of the old classics such as Tolken to the many fictional novels which are breeding like rabbits on the shelf. Fantasy is a big draw for audiences seeking an outlet from the grim reality most of us are used to.

Bioware is the same company that brought out good games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the more recent hit Mass Effect. These guys are geniuses when it comes to the role playing type of games that involves long storytelling and epic battles. The story reminds you of the best of Robert Silverberg or Piers Anthony.

I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff. I always liked the KOTOR styled games that specializes in novel length plots weaving with anywhere between eight to ten original characters vying for a spotlight. It’s custom made which means you can spend nearly 45 minutes creating your character any way you want… as a female, male, elf or dwarf, the three classes of people. There are also warrior castes, rogues and the magic wielding mages.

There’s enough here to make the head spin.

But it’s well worth checking out as the game draws you easily into the world of sword and fantasy, the realm in which magic rules and the battles are decided by the grace of cunning. There are layers of stories as the game can stretch into many side quests all for the manner of getting more character experience points. The more experience you have, the more powerful your character becomes.

Now I like this. The game designers are not forgetting something: games are supposed to be fun. They shouldn’t be frustrating, cumbersome and kicking you around until you ready to stab someone in the face with a console unit. No, “Dragon Age Origins” simply sweeps you into a rewarding place where you feel you are part of a story. That your character can influence the end result of the story.

I’ve explored fifteen percent of the game so far. And I haven’t been killed once yet. This is on the easiest level however. But I am more interested in having fun and getting wind of the story’s beautiful setting. I have been killed a thousand times already in the “Gears of War” game last month because I can’t get passed one stupid part involving a crazed berserker. Game shouldn’t be like this. They shouldn’t be so challenging that you are backed into the corner ripping your own hair out. This game "Dragon Age" is a thousand times better than the Conan game. Sorry, Robert E. Howard. I like your Conan stories very much. But the game was a pain.

Not “Dragon Age Origins”. Not at all.

However, if you want to play on the most difficult setting, be my guest. That’s for more hardcore professional gamers who have all the time in the world to figure a game out. I don’t. I want to sit down and be whisked away for a couple of hours. Without getting upset over game play. Or cursing up and down over it. Or, forgive me, attempt to break the joysticks.

So what is “Dragon Age Origins” about?

You can play a central character, depending on your background, where you are thrown into the middle of a growing battle between the good people of the land and the Darkspawn. You become a noble part of the Gray Wardens who are commanders in the heart of the war. Throughout the game, you must find other forces to add to your military might before ascending to crush the blight out of the land.

I chose the mage caste as I have always an interest in the magical. But, for the first time, I feel like I’m playing Dr. Strange straight out of the comic books. It really feels like you’re dabbling with sorcery with an onset of powers, mixing of potions and waving around a magic staff like Gandoff the Wizard. My character is also a dark haired, ravenous female so she can use her beauty to persuade others in their decisions.

The game is extremely well received with a 94 percent appreciation figure. Many websites such as PC Gamer UK and Gamezone have picked this as one of the better games to play, with the latter website rating it a near perfect grade of 9.9 out of 10. The consensus would be very similar to this particular game player who finds the game to be a good experience.

Why?

Better gaming controls, more settings and surroundings to venture through, more repeated game play for different results. There is none of the frustrating difficulty getting in your way of having fun. Such role playing games are worth every penny of the price. It doesn’t get any better than this.

My only issue with the game is that you can’t skip the dialogue or make it go faster. Therefore it’s a drag getting through the talky bits. I’m okay with it. You can even pursue romantic entanglements with your characters depending on who it is. It is a rated M game so there are some steamy stuff going on… not for the little kids. Whenever you and your party gets into a battle, you end up getting splattered with your foes’ blood if you see close ups. It’s great and bloody.

If you are a big fan of the KOTOR games along with Mass Effect, getting caught up with big stories, this is something for you. Others who might be looking for a fast game of shoot him up, you may want to give it a pass. However, you’ll find this game is nearly on the par as a high budgeted film blockbuster… and it is very much like a movie experience with a grand soundtrack and boasting actor voices. This one should get deserving praise.

This is The End...

This was much better.

The stakes were higher and the expectations were greater when the final broadcast of the Doctor Who series with David Tennant in the lead show came to a fiery ending. It's no exaggeration. The show did end with a crashing note.

The New Year's Day episode being part two of “End of Time” picked off where it left off from the Christmas special. The Doctor's long time archenemy took control over the planet earth as the Master regained a winning hand. It looked as if he was going to win out finally in his personal war against the Doctor.

To top it all off, the destroyed race of the Doctor's own people the Time-Lords were coming back with a bang.

With the often said prophecy of the tenth Doctor stating, “He will knock for times” loomed over the Doctor himself, he was racing against time itself to save humanity from the worst.

Russell T. Davies was pulling out all stops to offer us the conclusion of his Time War saga and why did the Doctor decide to turn on his own people at the very last moment. This was a story which Davies had in mind for the longest time, giving a fitting end to the Time War background story which had been the icing on the cake for the series.

Now we know why the Doctor did what he had to do. But it caused him great pain and misery, not to mention a shroud of loneliness.

The Time Lords were everything imaginable and probably the worst lot of enemies the Doctor ever faced. He was helpless against them. They were insistent, demanding force of power. They were headed by the President, known as Rassilon himself, played gleefully by James Bond veteran Timothy Dalton who did a magnificent job portraying a man lusting after power. Every stroke he made was an outlash of unlimited power. His own quest for survival was met with retaliation when he vanished someone from the Time Lord council simply because she disagreed with him. His words echoed many Time Lords who felt his need for survival, “I will not die!'

It's no wonder the Doctor himself was frightened of the Time Lords. They were like a hurricane of terror rushing over the very cosmos.

It would take the Doctor and the Master, played by John Simm from Life on Mars, who battle the rushing storm of the Time Lords. At the very least, the Master went out as a hero for taking out the Lord President himself by pushing him back through the gateway. The Doctor used Wilfred's army revolver to destroy the link that was bringing the Time Lords back into existence.

The saddest portion of the show is the knowledge that it was David Tennant's final show. His performance is rather good and you can't help thinking he left the seres far too soon. His energetic display, along with his tempered flow of catch phrases, was a welcome addition to the series. It would be a missed thing, though once again unfortunate that he did not stay for one more full time season.

It became a very emotional feelings knowing that the Doctor made a self sacrifice saving Wilfred from the radiation poisoning which brings a noble sentiment to him. He was willing to risk everything to save Donna's grandfather. Even the Doctor, dying from the radiation, made his final resolutions by going back to see some of his past companions, and there was a full circle to the story when the Doctor went back to visit Rose in early 2005... a few months before she actually met him for the first time. The story became complete.

It was a rather emotional moment for everyone, I'm sure, when the Tenth Doctor cried, “I don't want to go!” His regeneration process became a violent one destroying half of his ship as he was changing, his body being replaced and adapted.

Rest in piece, the Doctor. Long live the Doctor.

It's too early to tell about Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. He's far younger than all the previous actors, though he maintains a hellish energy that seems crazy, just borderline nuts. His last actions seen in the show was his crashing to earth with his traveling time machine engulfed in a ball of fire before a panoramic view of the earth spreading in the abyss of space.

The new Doctor seems to be enjoying his predicament as he shouts, “Geronimo!” The next few months will be looked on the approach of Stephen Moffat as the new head writer and Matt Smith as the new Doctor. Everything else would be up for grabs.