William and Kate’s modern-day fairytale

Like a lot of people, I was fed up with the Royal Wedding before it even happened. And who could blame me? Here was an over-glorified, self-aggrandized dog and pony show in the face of death, destruction, recession, and Donald Trumps’s loose jaw. If anything, society should have frowned on the event from the get-go, and to be honest, I was even drafting an editorial on why I couldn’t care less about any of it.

Nonetheless, I tuned into a live stream for no other reason but to see The Dress. But then something happened just at the 2 a.m. mark. Kate Middleton stepped out of the car at the West Entrance of Westminster Abbey, smiling from head-to-toe and donned in a radiant white gown designed by Sarah Burton.… Read More

Steven Moffat on Sherlock: “It begins.”

Are you as officially excited as I am for the next series of Sherlock? You should be. Check out this photo Steven Moffat tweeted yesterday, simply captioned: “It begins.”

Sherlock picks up filming in Britain next month with another three-part series written by co-creator Mark Gatiss. Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock Holmes), allegedly in talks for an After the Dance-transfer to Broadway, will don the deerstalker and pipe for a second time, metaphorically speaking. Martin Freeman (John Watson) will also temporarily put aside his commitments with The Hobbit in New Zealand.

The series is also up for a couple BAFTA awards announced earlier this morning, including “Best Drama” and “Best Lead Actor” (Benedict Cumberbatch).… Read More

Glee “Born This Way” 2.18 Episode Stills

Glee is back tomorrow night with a 90-minute Lady Gaga special all about the power of self-acceptance and embracing who you are. Sounds like a lot of fun. Let’s see what they can pack into an hour and a half. Will you be tuning in?

Here’s the official synopsis according to FOX:

In the “Born This Way” episode, MR. SCHUESTER (Matthew Morrison) teaches the glee club a valuable lesson about self-acceptance and embracing what makes you unique through the music of Lady Gaga. Meanwhile, LAUREN ZIZES (guest star Ashley Fink) and QUINN FABRAY (Dianna Agron) go toe-to-toe for the prom queen crown, MS.

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Review: Doctor Who, “The Impossible Astronaut”

Steven Moffat’s cap — or rather, his stetson — for a complex, highly immersible story. While it had its shortcomings, “The Impossible Astronaut” comes pretty close to perfection, with just enough right elements to make for a scary, entertaining series opener.

SPOILER ALERT: If you don’t want to be spoiled, stop reading here.

The episode opens with the Doctor visiting various moments in history, leaving traces of himself to mark events in River Song’s diary. He also finds time to mail off TARDIS-blue, numbered letters to Amy, Rory, and River, containing coordinates. Cut to Amy and Rory turning up in Middle of Nowhere, USA via a yellow American school bus, and you start to realize we’ve not seen this episode of Doctor Who before.… Read More

How I managed to avoid Harry Potter (and later regret it)

I have only read the first two books. I could barely tell you Gryffindor from Hufflepuff. To this day, I have still only seen Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. And over the course of about fourteen years, I’ve kind of just let that happen. I’ve never had an outright distaste for Harry Potter. Hell, despite what I lack in Potter dexterity, I’d probably go so far as to recommend it to someone. I’ve simply always felt a sense of indifference toward Harry and the gang.… Read More

Anna is completely obsessed with WhatTravisSays.

Move over, Charlie McDonnell, there’s another fresh faced, Doctor Who-obsessed nerd on the YouTubes. All right, so I use the term “new” lightly; he’s technically had a channel up for two years which boasts just under 4,000 subscribers. On top of that, he still takes the time to read every video comment as well as tweet. But let’s get to what he’s really good at: vlogging.

I found him through his recent Doctor Who spin on Born This Way, but what I’m really digging is his nerdtastic parody on TiK ToK. Holy Ke$ha upgrade Batman!

So I may be biased because of his Whovian status, but Travis also has some damn funny social commentary.… Read More

BBC America’s killer Doctor Who campaign.

We really must commend BBC America. They’ve totally been pulling out all the stops to makeDoctor Who as big and as bad as ever. Check out this video they released today as part of their 11 Days of the 11th Doctor YouTube campaign: Doctor Who’s Top 11 Catchphrases. The number one choice shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, although if we’re talking about a general Doctor Who catch-all list (they did include Russell T. Davies-era Cybermen), “Allons-y!” definitely should have taken precedence over “Silence will fall.” Seriously though, is it Saturday yet?

Gone too soon: Elisabeth Sladen (1948-2011)

Yesterday, all of time and space stood still to remember the late Elisabeth Sladen, whose shocking death still seems completely surreal even one day later.

We pass on our deepest condolences to close family and friends of Elisabeth. She was truly a beautiful, talented, and utterly gracious human being who left behind a legacy of great work on both Doctor Who and The Sarah Jane Adventures. I know she made a great impression in my life, as well as the lives of millions of Doctor Who fans, who will remember her for all eternity.

Goodnight, Sarah Jane.

Related articles

• Brown Bread: Elisabeth Sladen (etonmess.wordpress.com)
• VIDEO: Dr Who star Elisabeth Sladen dies (bbc.co.uk)
• ‘Doctor Who’ actress Elisabeth Sladen dies at age 63 (news-briefs.ew.com)

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Review: Chuck, “Chuck Versus the Wedding Planner”

“Chuck Versus the Wedding Planner” opens with a kick. Much like “Chuck Versus the DeLoreon” way back in season two, which also guest starred Gary Cole as Sarah’s con man father Jack Burton, we’re thrown into a young Sarah/papa Jack flashback. The duo weasels their way to fast cash, for which Jack gives his daughter sage advice: “Once you know all the cons, you’ll never be a sucker.”

Flash forward some twenty-odd years later to the Bartowski-Walker residence, and it seems that, despite Jack’s college degree in tomfoolery, Sarah wasn’t briefed on the ol’ “sketchy wedding planner who runs off with the big, fat check” scam.… Read More

Glee “Night of Neglect” 2.17 Episode Stills

Take a look at these new stills from the next episode of Glee, “Night of Neglect,” set to air Tuesday, April 19th on FOX. This episode is loaded with great stuff, including returning guest star Gwyneth Paltrow as Holly Holiday, as well as Charice’s anxiously-awaited return to Glee.

Here’s the official synopsis from FOX:

Proving that birds of a feather flock together, when another under-the-radar club at McKinley High needs helps raising funds, the glee club signs up to help. But when Sue hears about the show of support, she moves quickly to put the kibosh on it. Meanwhile, relationships are tested and big decisions will be made in the all-new “Night of Neglect” episode of GLEE airing Tuesday, April 19 (8:00-9:01 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

… Read More