http://tencrush.livejournal.com/127243.html

Word. Wordy McWord with a side of YES GODDAMMIT.

Spoiler cut (bad language/imagery warning, I'm not a happy camper):

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At least there's fixfic?

First off, the new Perfect Girl Evolution manga chapter has the most adorkable Ranmaru you have ever seen.

Second, the 2nd Collection Sixth Doctor comics collection is out this week from Panini. The price is a bit steep, but the 6th Doctor comics were the highlight of the entire run, with some truly deft writing and art. It also contains The World Shapers, the final 6th Doctor comic, which was written by a young guy named Grant Morrison. Whatever happened to him?...

OK, they got me. I was not expecting that.

We'll see what happens next week. :)

So RTD is stepping down as Who producer after 2009, and Steven 'Are you my mummy?' Moffatt takes over. This is pretty much what everyone was expecting and, with a few sexism issues aside, I think most people are pleased. It will be interesting to see how things develop - especially regarding the ever-present specter of Rose that hangs over the series atm.

Got my Muppet DVD, and watches the Spike Milligan episode. It's utterly hilarious, and could never, ever be made today. The premise is that, because they found the Muppet Show is broadcast in 108 countries, they're doing a tribute to internationalism. But this isn't the modern kid-friendly Muppets, this is Henson's true Muppets. So we get the nations all trying to kill each other, and casual unconscious racism like the African Muppet with the bone through the face and the Japanese version of Oklahoma with the L-R reversals. (We know we berong to the rand!). And the Swedish Chef playing an accordion.

Into all this wanders Spike, who basically does his usual insanity. They pair him with Sam the Eagle for much of the show, which works great. Sam tries to praise Britain, but Spike's 'true Englishman' is not up to his standards. The Muppet Newsman tries to do a news broadcast with Spike translating into foreign, which involves a lot of mime and a lot of Newsman abuse. Spike's 'Intergalactic Brotherhood of Man (Including Things) skit defies description, and I found it hilarious that Spike was monumentally cruel to Lew Zealand and got away with it.

Then the finale. It's a Small World. With Iraqi girl Muppets covered head to toe in black, with French Muppets standing around the Eiffel tower, and just every stereotype known to man. And Spike, getting shoved off stage by Sam but coming back as a different stereotyped nationality. The most boggling is his Chinaman, complete with buck teeth and Fu Manchu mustache. When Sam throws him off the stage, Spike hits him with a boxing glove (Boxer Rebellion, get it?) Then he pulls out a tam-o-shanter, puts it on, and gives a Nazi salute. While wearing a T-shirt that says 'Kuwait' in Arabic (Spike's BBC series at the time was 'Q8'.) The chaos continues into the closing credits, with Spike laying on the stage and sleeping, after one brief Native American parody, as they hadn't been offended yet.

It's the most un-PC Muppet show ever. I love it to bits.

Well, that was... OK. Pretty good.

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Really not looking forward to next week. Gareth Roberts, and from what I've heard in interviews he made it very funny. God save us from funny Gareth Roberts. >_>

Nice two-parter, a bit more together then some others we've had.

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Some spoilers follow:

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I did watch Planet of the Ood. No spoilers here, it was better than PiC, not as good as Pompeii. I'm still loving the Doctor/Donna vibe, but the plotting this year seems to be a bit weaker. This one especially, which had a lot of action but little going on, and almost harked back to the 9th Doctor in that he really didn't do much. Still, good overall, and will look forward to the return of and the next week.

I've also been flicking through the Eyeshield 21 manga, which I'm finding very enjoyable. Most fans, of course, read it for the Hiruma, and indeed, he is one one crazy lovable bastard of the highest order. I do, however, really like the hero, Sena. I also find myself in a minority liking the relationship between him and the cheerleader, Suzuna. Most fans apparently don't go for this as a) it's too 'obvious', and b) it's not insane enough to distract them from all the yaoi potential (which Hiruma/Mamori is). But bah, I think they're adorable.

The manga looks likely to be ending this year, as they're about to play in the final bowl game, so I've come in right at a good time, too. It's always nice to hit a series right as it's nearing its conclusion. :)

Speaking of manga, Golden Week is coming up, which means it's time to get ready for tons of fans asking 'hey, where's this week's chapter?', not knowing there's a break. Buckle down.

Been a while since I've gone on at length about stuff, so here goes:

Some quick manga hits. I'm now caught up with Bleach from Viz, and still enjoying it. It's a relief, after 12 volumes of her sitting around like a gerbil, to see Rukia doing something again in the most recent arc. I still like her and Ichigo better as friends. Love Attack 2 features one of the most over-the-top insane overprotective fathers I've ever seen in manga. Fairy Tail is unbelievably unoriginal, but great fun nonetheless. I'm also still enjoying Tears of a Lamb, showing I seem to have an affinity for Banri Hidaka's work. Ysa, Vol. 2 of ToaL mentions Takaya-san drawing art of Kyo (or Koyo, as CMX crappily translates it) in the clothes of her characters in Vol. 9 of Fruits Basket (the series were running concurrently).

I got, at last (it was delayed several months) the first Goon Show Compendium Box Set. The first 13 shows of the 5th series, which was the first where the BBC has a complete season, all uncut (as much as possible) and remastered. Complete with Andrew Pixley research notes for the CD booklet and Ted Kendall's painstaking notes on restoration, this is a must for any Goon fan. Most of these you have admittedly seen before, but Dishonoured is new to CD and hysterically fun, and Forog is new to CD and while not as good is pleasingly weird. Ying tong iddle i po!

The 2nd Woody Woodpecker DVD set ships this week, for those who missed me going on about it before.

Got the new Faction Paradox book out of New Zealand courtesy Lars from Mad Norwegian offering me a nice deal. It's Newtons Sleep, by Daniel O'Mahony, and the missing apostrophe is intentional. It's very long and very wordy, as I expected (it's Faction Paradox, after all, and I already know O'Mahony's prose from old Who novels), so I'm only about 18 pages into it. It's pretty cracking stuff so far, though, and will apparently feature poetess and spy Aphra Behn.

I also read the new Tank Girl novel at Anime Boston. Written by Alan Martin, it's very Tank Girl, circa her best writing rather than her worst. I'd only read it if you're a fan of the comics, otherwise the prose style and constant swearing will no doubt put you off, but it was fun.

Catherine Tate apparently has breasts. Or something.

In case people were wondering, the 160G iPod I got a couple months ago is now at about 120G filled, and no, I still haven't put any videos on it, that's just mp3s. I'm at the point now where I could listen to shuffle for 2 months and still not repeat anything. :D It is nice to be able to think 'Hrm, I feel like Talking Heads today, or Nirvana, or PDQ Bach, or Miles Davis, or the Goons, and not have to think about dragging out CDs when you get home.

But enough about me. How's everyone been? :)