Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Cast Announced!

The Doctor and his new companion, Clara.

Doctor Who is coming back tonight and I couldn't be more excited. All week when people were wishing me a "Happy Holiday", I was sure they were talking about today - which I have called "Doctor Who Day" - not the high holy day of my religion, Easter Sunday! (I'm pretty sure God will forgive me in the long run.) Whatever my eternal fate turns out to be, I have been rewarded for my Doctor Who fandom this morning with breaking news from BBC America: the all star cast of this year's fiftieth anniversary episode has been announced!

What Is Doctor Who Anyway?

All the regenerations of the Doctor.

For those uninitiated, Doctor Who is a British science fiction television show that first aired on November 23, 1963. While it started out as edutainment, with aspirations of showing children all types of historical cultures and events with a time traveling guide called "the Doctor", after one season, the show found its true stride in a fun and fantastical adventure across time and space battling all types of monsters and evils along the way. The character known as "the Doctor" has lasted so long thanks to an alien ability unique to his race of Time Lords known as regeneration. Regeneration enables the Doctor to "repair" himself after death with one side effect: a brand new body and face - this is just about the most convenient story line for any television wanting a long life that out lives its lead actors (or lead actor's desire to remain in the role!).

In addition to the Doctors, fans also become especially become close to those characters closest to themselves, the Doctor's companions. The companions are usually humans picked up from Earth to travel through time and space with the Doctor in his spaceship called the TARDIS. The T.A.R.D.I.S., which stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space, looks like an ordinary old fashioned British Police Box on the outside, but is impossibly bigger on the inside (think of the Weasley's tent when they went to the Quidditch World Cup) containing the controls to the ship plus other amenities (I can think of discussion of a pool, multiple bedrooms and a wardrobe off the top of my head).

My Doctors
 

The 10th Doctor and his companion Rose.

While I was always familiar with various Doctor Who references in my life (British guy in a long scarf and something with a blue phonebox-looking thing), I didn't become a true Whovian (term given to the avid fans of the show) until 2007 when I decided to dive into the Whoverse thanks to illness-induced insomnia paired with my best friend at the time: Netflix. I was hooked from the first episode of the "New Who" run of the series that began in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as the ninth Doctor. Since then I have watched the Doctor regenerate into David Tennant (the tenth Doctor) and now Matt Smith (the eleventh and current Doctor). I have loved all of my doctors and have been secretly wishing that all of them would find their way into the fiftieth anniversary episode scheduled for this November.

The Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Cast

So, this morning, the BBC America website has finally revealed the cast of the episode which is set to begin filming this week. Here's what they had to say:

Ahead of tonight’s premiere, “Doctor Who” revealed some of the all-star cast that will mark the 50th anniversary. David Tennant and Billie Piper will join current Doctor and companion, Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman, while John Hurt (“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” “Alien,” “Harry Potter”) will also co-star.

They're back!!!

I couldn't be more excited. David Tennant was the longest running Doctor, and, therefore, we Whovians have an extreme attachment to him. While I am slightly disappointed that Christopher Eccleston's name is not on this list, this is not too much of a surprise, since the Doctor and Rose (Billie Piper) are the most "realistic" (yes, I said realistic in reference to a crazy wildly out of control scifi show) options for an appearance. I am busy buzzing around different story options in my head, but, needless to say I am excited to see what happens this Novemeber!

Are You A Whovian?

What are your thoughts about this? Are you a Whovian? When did you get hooked? Are there other characters you are hoping to see come back at some point this season, even if not in the fiftieth anniversary special?  

Do You Love T-Shirts As Much As I Do?

Last June I wrote about the first essential piece of my everyday wardrobe: converse sneakers, in a post entitled 10 Reasons I LIVE in Converse Sneakers (which I really, really do). However, my expression of self does not end with my feet. In addition to my colorful collection I happen to adore t-shirts. Not just any old t-shirts, either, they have to say something or mean something and if they have some sort of geek reference, well then that's just 1,000 times better.

While writing this post I am wearing a brand new t-shirt that I simply can't stop smiling about. It is a Buffy the Vampire Slayer t-shirt and it is awesome.

Please ignore the mess behind me... I still haven't settled all of the files into my new filing cabinet.

Here's why I love the shirt:

1. I am an über-fan of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer (in case you didn't pick it up, that's why my beagle's name is Buffy).
2. Buffy and the "Scoobies" are adorable in this design.
3. I have never seen this design before (and I am always on the hunt for cool new BtVS t-shirts).
4. The shirt cost me only ten dollars!!!

Yep. $10. That's it. 

You see, it is from this website that I am now addicted to. Have you heard of TeeFury? I don't know how I heard of it (I wish I could give someone credit for this!), but ever since I have it has become a daily check in for me.

Here's how they work, in their own words:

So what's teeFury all about anyway?
TeeFury is a place where you will find amazing tees at amazing prices (and occasionally other non-tee things). It's pretty simple - one new super limited-edition tee every 24 hours for $10.

What happened to yesterday's tee or any of the other previous tees?
Each tee goes up for sale everyday at midnight eastern time. Once it sells out, or after 24 hours, whichever comes first, that tee is gone. And when we say, "gone", we mean G-O-N-E - never to be sold again at TeeFury. So, if you see something you like, and it hasn't sold out yet, you better grab one fast before the fat lady sings.

So you really only have ONE shirt for sale at a time on your entire site?
Yep. See above

 So... it's not just t-shirts, it's exciting t-shirts sold in an exciting way for a very cool price. I just think it is loads of fun. Here are some of the previous designs that have caught my eye:

I missed this one :(

Bought this for a Ghostbusters loving family member!

I think I'll be wearing this one tomorrow!

This was up long before I knew about teefury. I think it is brilliant! The design was called CoCoNuts.

I guess it goes without saying - I am a fan. It is for that reason that I decided to become an affiliate for teefury and put an ad for them in my sidebar. So, when you see this little box:

on the Rivera Runs Through It blog, now you know why its there. It's there because I love t-shirts, the shirts that I have received from Teefury are high quality and unique, and I thought, that if any of my readers were fans of cool geek and pop-culture referenced t-shirts they would really appreciate me sharing this information with them!

So do you love t-shirts, or know someone who does?

(I can't wait for Christmas to come back around now!)

Had you heard of teefury before?

Have you purchased any cool teefury shirts? If so, what designs caught your eye?

Do you know of any other super-cool places where I should be checking out t-shirts?

An Open Question to Fellow Whovians: The God Complex

I watch Doctor Who.

It makes me think.

Then I have questions.

I pester the same people week after week with these questions FORGETTING COMPLETELY THAT I HAVE A BLOG!

This week's episode, The God Complex, has raised a big question for me about the Doctor himself and I am wondering where Whovians stand on their interpretation of these events.


[SPOILER ALERT: If you have not seen the season 6, episode 11 entitled The God Complex and do not want any of it to be spoiled for you, then I advise you STOP READING THIS RIGHT NOW UNTIL YOU HAVE SEEN THE EPISODE!]




My Big Question: What is the Doctor's motivation at the end of the episode?

The doctor decides, at the end of this episode, to bring his companion(s) home before it is necessary. Now, Amy (and Rory) have been through hell and back with the Doctor, so they definitely have reached what would be considered "the limit" for some, but they did not request an end to their adventures, the Doctor, uncharacteristically, volunteered it.

In the past (mind you I have only watched the re-boot of the Doctor Who series, as Netflix has yet to acquire the completed versions of the previous Doctors and I don't like watching things piece-meal), the Doctor has only ended his companion relationships when it was either beyond his control, or it is the literal last thing to be done in order to save their lives. He destroys people. He takes them on the adventure of a lifetime, of TWO lifetimes, even, and then returns them to their world as (in some way) broken human beings. No one really complains about it, they all come to the understanding that this is the cost of the travel, but it is what seems to transpire, nonetheless. Then, all of a sudden, on this weekend's episode of Doctor Who, the Doctor brings Amy and Rory home to a brand new home, a shiny new car and says, "Ta-ta! Didn't want to mess you up any worse off than I already did!"

image from Whoinverse

So the optimist in me jumped on this - Wow! The Doctor is growing, and learning from all of his years of experience... so sad he has to suffer alone.

Then I mulled it over for a while. Amy had to abandon her faith in the Doctor in this episode. She had to convince herself finally that he could not fix everything. And obviously, she did or else the Minotaur monster would not have died.

Which brings me, finally, to my question: 

Did the Doctor leave Amy to save her, or just because she finally understood that he is "just a madman in a box"? Does the Doctor need companions for companionship or some level of worship? 

While I know the term "Lord" has a different meaning in the British vernacular, in my world (of a catholic school upbringing) it is a pretty lofty title, so is the need for some sort of worship embedded in the Time Lord being?

I have a feeling these things will all be revealed in time, but I was just wondering what others thought about them now based on what we know of the Doctor so far. (Perhaps those of you who have known the Doctor longer than I will have an even deeper insight).

So, Whovians - What do you think?! Of course, there is one other  burning question from this weekends episode I'm sure everyone is salivating at:  

WHO/WHAT DID THE DOCTOR SEE IN "HIS" ROOM? 

I feel pretty confident that he saw himself, but I get surprised ALL THE TIME, so what do you think?

Time Travel Troubles

This post is written as part of the What IF? Project hosted here on the Rivera Runs Through It Blog. Each week a new "What if?" question is presented and I do my best to respond to the query.  You are invited to as well. This week's "What if?" was

What if you could travel in time?

What if you could travel in time?

I'm the one who asked the question. I didn't think it would be so difficult for me to answer it.

After posting the What if #4 on Tuesday, I set my mind on thinking about my best possible answer. I went out to backyard, starting weeding and spent the time thinking about it, "What if I could really do it? Then what? What would I do? Where would I go? What experiences would I venture to get involved in?" I daydreamed like this for over four hours (yes, my backyard was that messed up!) and by the end of it decided given the opportunity, I might not travel in time at all!

What's the problem with time travel?

Check out more info on the Time-Turner

Here's what happened. I just started out on my weeding expedition when I thought I had figured the whole thing out. I thought, "Time travel is awesome. I could time travel like Hermione does with her Time-Turner!"

If you are not familiar with the Harry Potter tales, a time-turner was a device given to Hermione Granger in order for her to take more classes than time and scheduling would allow. She would take a class, turn her handy-dandy device back, and magically be able to re-live the same time span, but, on the second time around, she would attend another class being held at the same time as her first! It was/is brilliant. I thought, "If I could travel in time, I would use the time travel to learn, read, take up whole new lines of study, or - WAIT! - I could learn through experience and go to places and times where I could absorb actions as they happened! This is awesome!!"

And then I got carried away, "How much could I learn right now while weeding? I could just pop off - read a book, and then come back. No one would know I was gone and I could be getting two things done at once! After another ten minutes of weeding, I could pop off and go enroll in another graduate program! I could just audit classes for everything! I could go away for years, and then, when I was done, I could come back and finish weeding and no one would know..." but right then, in that moment, in that thought, it hit me. If I was gone for years, wouldn't I age?

I was stumped. I was done. No matter which direction I decided to move in time - forward or backwards - I would age while traveling. My heart was broken. If I somehow found a way to "beat" time, there was no guarantee that my body could beat it as well! Time travel couldn't help me squeeze more life out of life, it simply became a different type of vacationing. Crud.


What's the solution?

How the Doctor travels in time.

Nearly all the next day, I ignored thoughts of time travel (aside from allowing a couple of Dr. Who episodes to play on in the background while reading). Then, this morning, I started to tell my husband of my dilemma. For some reason, as I told him the story I just told you, I discovered that there is still some beauty in the time travel possibility on a quasi-regular basis. It can be used, if you use it for short jumps in time, where your aging does not necessarily factor in.

With this time travel is something I sorely need. I am CHRONICALLY late to things. It used to be a joke while growing up that my family was always the last to show up. As I began my own adult life working and developing my career, I improved slightly while getting out and about on my own, but eventually the genes won out. Finally, my stupid sicknesses added all types of delays to almost every single departure I have had from home! In short, I could use some time travel help! Every single time I am going to be late for something, there is a moment when I pretty much know this is going to happen - if I could travel in time, this is the moment where I could effectively make the decision to make a jump. If I am late due to sickness, I can ride out whatever symptom(s) are flaring and then jump. If I am dealing with the dogs, it can happen even sooner. If I am late for whatever other ridiculous reason, I can just stop and jump in time.


So it's not glamorous. It isn't adventurous. It isn't at all what I thought time travel could be, but, heck, it would be useful!

...and I guess I could probably sneak a couple of really good reads in without anyone noticing!

What are your thoughts on time travel?

Does the aging thing bother you? 

Could you choose to live in another time instead of this one?

What if #4

This post is an invitation to you to think about the word in the middle of life: IF (L-IF-E). Each week the Rivera Runs Through It blog will present a different "What If...?" question for you to explore. Some will be serious, some will be silly, some might be political, religious or historical.

You can either write a response of your own, or just tune in to see what everyone else has to say about it. At the bottom of this post will be a place for you to link up your own post about the question, so feel free to share. If you have arrived at this post and the inlinkz tool is closed, or you don't have a blog, then please leave your response (or link) in the comment section below using DISQUS.

***If you have a What IF? question you would like to submit as a possible future prompt, please do so in the Rivera Runs Through It Community What If discussion.***

Happy pondering to everyone...

What IF #4:

What if you could travel in time?

You may or may not know this, but as of this summer I am a HUGE Doctor Who fan (thank you Netflix!). Since season six will finally be back underway this Saturday, I've been thinking a lot about timey-wimey things! It is for this reason, that this week's "What if" question challenges you to think about your own possible time travel.

There are so many things you can write about here: would you do it? If so, which direction - back, forward, or both? What would you see? Would you interact, or would you just observe? Is there someone you want to talk to, meet, or take a picture with? Is there a place you would like to be or an event you would like to attend? Oh... my list can go on. If you are looking to really let loose with this one - get creative and write it as if you have time-traveled! Take us with you on your journey. There are no rules at Rivera Runs Through It against fun fiction (unless, you actually CAN travel in time thereby making it nonfiction, which is, of course, fine as well!).

I'd love to hear (read) your posts! For readers without a blog of your own, I'd love to see your response here in the comments section. If you have a blog, use the in linkz tool below to write your post and link it up!

For a list of all of the What if questions asked so far, 

see The What If Prompts