Entertaining eventfulness

Memorandum of the moment: featured updates, briefings and fandom details. And some frenetic hotlinking. Because things, if not that many accidents, still do happen - despite of summer's being the (arguably) most silent period, throughout the year. Calm and uneventful, in general; hence, ever the more pleasant. And due to the undramatic status of the world as such, we have the chance to stress, to a greater extent, the importance of the littler matters - those slight, yet often very significant ones; that would otherwise pass by unnoticed, by most people. However, with the popular space of all tabloid pages and multiple internet sites left open, to fill with whatever incoming news their editors might get hold of, whatever pops up and appears relevant, there is the opportunity to open our eyes and absorb, as well as bring forward, these new and exciting facts which have just been waiting, out there, to be discovered. Thus far, that is. For, regardless if the sunbeams continue their failing attempt to shine on us; in this the lousiest of summers, if basing judgment strictly on the weather conditions; we can (just as well) project the same amount of limelight onto alternative areas of our involvement - that might prove equally (heart)warming, too. Like, let's say, entertainment. TV, movies, books and stuff. The happy trivialities, ready for consideration. Nuff said; there; I've opened my mind long ago. I promote the minor details as much as I possibly can, especially right now. And as a direct consequence, I give you listings. Hear hear, open-minded searchers everywhere, abound; among other, eh, such things - worth noticing and well worthy of being mentioned here - we have these:

It's time for those infamous British television awards, as per usual around these dates, with massive promotion and public interest to follow. TV Choice, TV Quick, and - most importantly - the National Televion Awards. And, as always, at the centre of common attention sparkles "Doctor Who". Honoured with several nods of recognition, loads of support and good chances of sweeping the shows once again. Including one nomination for "Most Popular Drama", at the NTA's, plus two nominations for David Tennant and Catherine Tate, in the brand new category called Outstanding Dramatic Performance; wonderful indeed, I have to say, especially when considering the chances that one of these personal favourites might win and receive this aptly named distinction. Which would be well-earnt, downright proper, just fair and, of course, a hardly disputable decision. In any case. Nor is there any real competition to speak of, since "Doctor Who" remains in a league of their own and no-one seems willing, or particularly determined, to change that situation. No debating it, either. The Brits love their Doctor and fortunately, they know how to put this loving on display. Last year, DW returned home from the Nation Television Awards with two awards in hand; for best drama and best actor. And these brilliant folks, as well as their enormous fanbase, quite deserve to see that successful experience all over again. The most popular, most respected drama series in Britain, ever, and the longest running one, too - for that matter. With everyone's favourite darling, David Tennant, in his star part as everyone's favourite hero; still shining bright. It's the icon role of a life time, for which he is absolutely perfect, and it doesn't hurt that he's got the team of awesome behind him. Obviously enjoying their job so much, it nears the point of ridicule; and, hence they keep doing it in an unparallelled, marvellous style; attracting more and more viewers to the program, increasing its quality by the mile with every new season. Which was also confirmed, excplicitly, when a baffling 10,5 mill. - that's million - people tuned in to watch the final episode of series four, "Journey's End", the highest ratings in the history of the show. Happily enough, it was a well-spent 65 minutes of finale, too; no disappointments, this time around, instead we were all in for an incredible treat of gargantous, dramatic and literally epic proportions; fully loaded, at times slightly overcrowded, with fun and joy and tensions and a whole bunch of lovely characters. No match for that, out there, nothing even comes near. Thus, no wonder they deserve all the prizes they can get, and allow me to point everyone and anyone - interested or not, to this site where you may all vote for your personal choices, and please - pretty pretty please - do make that David, Catherine and "Doctor Who". Remember, also, the many other award shows to which they are related, and where they should be crowned champions. Due to the many true and powerful reasons, as stated above - and, quite simply, because it really is the best choice of them all, in addition to being the best TV show ever made; crammed with the greatest action imaginable, and the very best, over-the-top notch of performers to star in it. Fingers crossed, let's take for granted that justice is served and the true winners (actually get to) win!

Moreover - but, well, on the same note - DW magazine is out, this month, with a brand new and very desirable issue. Seeing that it's a brilliant, well-written, informative and superbly designed mag, of course, but also because this particular edition comes with an impressive FOUR different front pages to choose from, and collect, all of which are stunning. Naturally due to the (unfathomably) large number of actors involved in the final episodes - who are all present here, and have been granted one front page each. So that every fan might find one to suit their own predilections. My personal cover of choice has the entire Tyler family on it; Mickey, Jackie and Rose, plus her new hubby - the Clone Doctor, or "Cloney" as he is affectionately (?!) known by most fan(girl)s. Other pet names for him include, by the by-way, "Other Doc", "Rose's Doc", "Mr. Blue", "the stupid one", "Evil!Ten", "the one who got the ugly suit and The Tylers", and "Instant Time Lord copy thing" (my favourite). Additionally, it has some swell photoshopping and neat "cloud effects", and all the nicey people involved - as portrayed on the various covers - are interviewed inside, too, no less. So, you get lots and lots of goodies, and Billie Piper in all her glory; no reasons to stay away. Money rarely was better spent. Second, with regard to other items, upon which one might consider spending some cash, there's tickets to David Tennant's rendition of "Hamlet"; as staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company this summer, in Stratford Upon Avon, opening next week - on the 24th, to be precise. Apparently, they plan a small tour around England - and intend to put up a show in London, among other places, sometime later on. What else; this happens to be the "official" reason why the 2009 season of "Doctor Who" has suffered a slight rearrangement and will be carried out as three longer-running specials, not an entire series. We have to wait till 2010 for another proper 13 episodes. But, hey; I look forward to the fillers, too - in fact, I think they will be gloriously grand. All of them. Starting off with Cyberman at Christmas, only to be followed by further, as of yet unknown, but presumably even more villainous villains. Next; lots of new action, great special effects, potentially classic and definately brilliant new stories, as managed and provided by new head writer Stephen Moffat - along with, let's hope, continuously fab direction, more of Murray Gold's haunting music, and some brand new companions. Exciting, to say the least. I can hardly wait, but in the meantime I relish in the wake of what's been the most accomplished, most ambitious and most successful series to this point, namely series four, which will be rewatched with joy when I get hold of the soon-to-be-released DVD collection. And I rejoice at its disctinct popularity, excellence and, overall, extremely high standards that will put smiles on our faces and be remembered with joy, for many many years to come. As brought about by its contributors, the cast and crew; in particular Catherine the Great; and through wonderful acting, re-appearances of old heroes, well-turned plotlines, brilliant twists, non-stop action, emotionally engaging stories, stargazing granddads and lots more - all we've come to connect with "Doctor Who", today, and what's made it such a triumph. The very charactertistics of a true quality show. And, forever and for ever, my favourite.

On a differening, if not completely diverse, note - I've revisited another, much older fandom, lately; the "Terminator" anthology. Watched number one and three this week, with immense fondness, and also reliving a lot of fond memories thereby. These are some of my all-time-favourites, within the action genre, and amongst the classics I hold the most dear. And, what's even more important, there's leading lady Linda Hamilton, who (still!) remains one of the greatest action heroines ever to have hit the big screen. Superior to the likes of Billie Piper and Catherine Tate, even. She's just fabulously strong, and so gorgeous. A female icon for the ages. She's got that massive attitude, the coolest of weapons, along with kickass lines, killer costumes and - not to forget - the vulnerability of a human being. She's the most human of all. An "ordinary" waitress, taking on an unfathomable responsibility, and fate; an almost unbearable task to deal with. And who, consequently, dares to express more instinctive softness and empathy than the similar tough chick characters. She couldn't suppress it, simply, for it's in her nature, it's part of her very identity. And it makes her even more admirable. Hamilton's portrayal of Sarah Connor gives way to a role model she should be extremely proud of, and take great pride in having created; which only emphasizes the cruelty of her being snubbed at the Oscars. Shame on the jury, once again, but at least she's got a monumental performance to look back upon. Indeed, it took quite a bit of effort; subesequent trauma, health troubles, too - for Hamilton herself, it was particularly hard, poor woman. But still, what a wonderful cinematic achievement that came out of these ordeals; hopefully sufficient to make up for all the pain of going though the process involving them. Whenever actors like Linda Hamilton should feel insecure or saddened, they ought to think of fans like us, like myself; for whom these works that they've been part of and created, induces such immense happiness. The greatest fun there is. Yes, what a delight it is, to rewatch and (re)view such a timeless piece of motion picture artistry; like the "Terminator" saga, mainly the first two, which have both retained their relevance, as well as their undeniable quality - and has been allowed to grow stronger, more striking, over the years, rather than being weakened by time taking its toll. I fear that is a fate that will come to apply to the action flicks of today, with their boundless budgetry and lack of brains, but most of all the non-existent sense of feeling. That they will perish into the pits of anonymity and increasing forgetfulness; since they hold no sincere depth, no originality, no memorable individuals resembling the Sarah Connor type. And, as distinct from the classics, no aspects - whatsoever - of tangent sensitivity. It's all become so superficial, now, and every production is slick, fast, carefree, elegant. But no sheer emotion. Whereas "Terminator I", for one, is packed with emotional scenes and beautiful relationships, in addition to its thriller notion. And its successor, "T-2: Judgement Day", only takes it further, playing on the same notes, employing the same mix of character and characteristics; hard-boiled fighting sequences relieved by the impressively tender moments and a true dimention of humanity; a humane approach. For better or for worse, but in this case it's plain luck, and the film is in no way inferior. It actually manages to be a vast improvement of the first chapter, resulting in one of these absolute classics, as commonly considered; one you'll bear in mind for as long as you live and want to watch over an over again, just like the first outing, just like "The hunt for Red October", which I watched earlier this week, and "Léon", "Scarface", other Schwarzenegger-memorablia, the lot of them. For me, these are, and will always be, the best of the best; it's wonderful times well spent, it's a bliss - not only because they're great movies, but because they're proper movie experiences. Apparently, in most cases, I must return to the grand old days to find more unforgettable pieces of their kind, that puts me in a similarly happy mode. There are some brighter spots, here and there; these days too; like the Bourne-films, some of the Jason Statham-flicks, and "Casino Royale". Old-fashioned quality action. For which I am eternally grateful, and I just hope they'll be able to maintain this tradition and never leave the past behind, but let themselves be inspired, thoroughly, as they should continue to inspire me - with the immediate joy I get, when faced with really good, thought-provoving, classy, whole-hearted movie making. Positive vibes, swinging through the otherwise compact and rainy and depressing summer air. To give me what I require; what this fangirl longs for, often, always; the cultural impulses that stirs up any grey day. Enlivens any and all downtrodden, blue and lifeless moments. To enlighten and please. To serve and to save. Quite simply; I need my frequent rush of fandom blood to the head. Preferrably on a daily basis. I need my dose of proper entertainment, cultural impressions, brand new or rediscovered impulses. And what more, I love it. Every step of the route, every moment, every sting. I absolutely love it. I reside in the Universe of Fandom, an existence ruled by will, by choice, and by pure desire; and I wouldn't have it any other way.