Introducing: Paul.

Bah Weep Gragnah Weep Ni Ni Bong, T’Laina fans!

I know, I know - you came here today expecting to drink tea and read some epic Star Trek blog posts, and I apologize if you’re adamantly against trying new things… and now you're just curious as to what the hell is going on. Who is this interloper babbling on about nonsense? I’m the girl’s boyfriend. I’m the lovely bloggers biddy boy. I’m the one who pays for 8% of her memorabilia and such.

Call me Paul.

A Ceti Eel larvae creeps up on Paul's shoulder...

I’ve known the lass for a good four years, and obsessed over her and lovely eyes the entire time. This year, shortly after my birthday we consummated our relationship with the purchase of a rather expensive Transformer (Sentinel Prime, for the curious), she demanded I “do” a blog post about Star Trek and Doctor Who - and who am I to argue?

Before I met her I must confess, Star Trek and Doctor Who were in the background of my life - present, but not in the forefront. I was aware of it, the characters, the eleven different incarnations of the Doctor… but it never really interested me. Even the 2009 Star Trek rape - I mean film - made me shrug and say “meh”.

After T’Laina started dating me, she put me in mandatory trek classes, and then Doctor Who classes. Color me surprised - I found myself very much enjoying both. The characters, the situations, the performances… all very nuanced material actually. I won’t say I stereotyped either as “generic sci-fi crud”, but I didn’t expect the intelligence or social commentary.

Into the ear canal, to the cerebral coretex!

T’Lania speaks very highly about her Trek and Who, tons and tons of hours whittled away on it. Sometimes it bothers me, but most times not. It depends on how much she does it.

For me, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of either Star Trek or Doctor Who is a combination of Wrath of Khan and the very poorly made movie Dr. Who and the Daleks, starring my personal favorite Actor, Peter Cushing. T’Laina hates that particular film, as she says it is a bad knock-off. I only like it because it’s Cushing.

Now, just saying up front:
Favorite Captain: Kirk
Favorite Doctor: Sylvester McCoy.
Why? They’re the ones I find the most enduring.

I must confess that I myself am a nerd in general - my heart and interests lie in a sea of giant monsters and DC superheroes. But with T’Laina, an adventure into the world of television sci-fi was made very enjoyable. I would be very happy to read a comic wherein Batman throws punches with Spock!

That is all for me today, dear friends. I return you to your regularly scheduled blog posts.

The Eleven Doctors Figure Set - Faces and Details

A continuation from Doctor Who - The Eleven Doctors Figure Set.

I have a large hardcover book on the cosmos, and beautiful galaxies and systems cover the pages. I wanted to get some detailed photos of the figures' faces, and so I used these pages as a background - I was very pleased with the effect. To enlarge the photos, right click and open in a new tab or window.

The last photo with Matt Smith reminds of Van Gogh for some reason - I am very pleased with how it turned out. I also took photos of some of my favorite outfits, and the detail that was put into them:

For the amount of money that I spent, these figures were very finely done. I am running out of space in my small shared room, however, and I can't continue piling shelves on top of shelves on top of desks. Realistically, I didn't really have room for his set. But guess what? I don't care. Maybe once the floor starts sinking (which at this rate will be soon) I will try and find my own place.

Doctor Who - The Eleven Doctors Figure Set

About a year ago, I was lusting over a TARDIS box with all eleven Doctors inside. Every time I saw it, however, it was 150 dollars and I had (very) insufficient funds.

And then one day, everything changed. I went to one of my favorite local shops with a couple hundred dollars, when I found that they had one last set. And it was only ninety dollars. It was one of the best days of my life. Or something.

Looking like a cool kid in superman boxers, a Marvel shirt I got in the little boy's section at Walmart, and rubber boots, I went outside into the cold to take pictures the next day. I kept hearing people stop behind me, but I never looked around to see who it was. They were probably admiring my chelsea mullet. Right?

Right?

On the topic of the first two Doctors (my favorites, other than the fourth and the sixth) my friend had this to say: "I think those might be the most action-y action figures I've ever seen. Look kids! It's Guy With Deep Thoughts Man and his amazing sidekick That Dude With His Computer at Starbucks!"

That may just be my favorite description of the first two figures. Ever.

I love how much the Sixth Doctor stands out amongst the rest. He definitely has amazing fashion sense - and I will leave it up to you to determine whether or not I was being sarcastic when I made that comment. But the Doctor was always a very stylish and handsome man. Always.

For some reason the Ninth is the only figure with a separation on his neck that just looks like a stupid line, and the Tenth Doctor has really derpy glasses that are foggy and derpy looking. The Eleventh Doctor, however, has awkward little legs and a bow tie - just like the real thing! But guess what? The Second Doctor made bow ties cool first.

Their home is on my desk right now - like a Time Lord battalion, except there aren't enough of them to even constitute a battalion. I keep my Daleks in a separate location, but unfortunately they have possession of the TARDIS right now so I have a feeling that the Doctor(s) will be confronting the Dalek fleet very soon.

Continued HERE

Doctor Who Magazine Tenth Anniversary Issue - Photos

Right now I am going through a few of my Doctor Who magazines - I had posted photos of this issue's included poster before (here), but it has so much more to offer - vicariously through my blog and I.

I original chose to buy this issue (1989) because of the front image. Sylvester McCoy was one of my favorite doctors, and I loved having a photo of him yelling at a Dalek, face to... eye stalk.

On the back cover, is an advertisement and order form for "The Silver Fist Collection" including audio tapes on the history of the Cybermen , an interview with Colin Baker and David Banks (the Cyberleader), and a Cybermen fiction/non fiction combination book (written by David Banks and illustrated by Andrew Skilleter).

PS. To enlarge, right click and open in a new tab or window.

There is also a wee note stating that "due to circumstances beyond it's control there will be no 1990 edition of the calendar".

Inside, there are a couple of full page, color publicity photos. The first photo features the fabulous Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor and a Dalek.

Next we have a vibrant photo of Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor, and Patrick Troughton as the Second (another of my favorites!) in front of the TARDIS. The second Doctor was such a persnickety old man (much like this first), and that absolutely shows in this picture.

Because I don't want to damage this magazine, I am going to go down to the library with a dollar and make some color copies to put on my wall. Feel free to do the same, but using these scans if you don't have the actual magazine.

More scans to come, including some old Doctor Who comics and interviews.

Drawing on One's Hand When One is Bored at Work.

I work as a cashier a couple minutes away from my house about four times a week. I wish I could get more hours than four or five at a time - expanding collections get's expensive - but for now I take what I can get. More to the point, when there are no customers around and I have already tidied every shelf around, things get boring. Severely boring. So boring, in fact, that I take to drawing Daleks on my hand and sneaking up on some of my fellow employees - thrusting out my arm and whispering "eexxterminaaate".

Unfortunately, none of them have watched Doctor Who, and one of them thought it was a bird. I may have drawn it with a crappy pen in thirty seconds, but it still loks like a Dalek - I'm not sure how she saw a bird. Maybe a borg bird at a quick glance...

One customer actually saw my hand as I was scanning some items, and asked me if I like Doctor Who. Obviously I do, and we started talking about different episodes and reincarnations/regenerations of The Doctor. Disappointingly, however, when I told him that one of my favorite Doctors was the seventh as played by Sylvester McCoy, he said "oh yes, one of the new ones". I told him, "no, the seventh - the one with the cool umbrella - traveled around with Ace." World, I am disappoint.

On another note, I got a new digital SLR camera the other day - that means better quality pictures and a higher variety of posts. Life. Is. Good.

Cybermen Vs. Daleks Poster

I managed to get my hands on the Doctor Who Magazine from December 1991 - Issue 182. Not only does it have amazing artwork on the cover, but it also has a wee Sylvester McCoy in the corner (I do love the Seventh Doctor).

The best part is the free poster inside, featuring the Mondasian Cybermen battling the Daleks. Interestingly enough, we don't actually see the Daleks and Cybermen together until "Doomsday" in 2006 (Terry Nation, the creator of the Daleks, never did agree to have them appear together).

I have this poster up on the wall right beside my bed, so whenever my Dalek alarm clock goes off, I open my eyes and see this battle scene. It's a great way to wake up in the morning.