Doctor Who: Forest of the Dead
In our last episode, the Doctor and Donna were trapped on a planetary repository of books called The Library along with a archaeological team and a microscopic, carnivorous species that hides in the shadows called the Vashta Narada. And somehow, all this is linked to a little girl who seems to be watching the events within the Library the same as the viewer.
And now, part two.
Steven Moffat delivers in his Herculean task of writing a second part of a fantastic episode that is every bit as good as the first part. We learn that the little girl is actually the planetary database called CAL (patterned after a little girl named Charlotte Abigail Lux), who managed to save the 4,022 survivors of the Vashta Nerada invasion as data in an enormous hard drive. The same fate had befallen Donna at the end of the last episode.
There were a few very interesting aspects of this episode that really struck me. The first was River Song’s relationship-to-be with the Doctor. Since they “initially” meet in her past, the actress will have to appear younger to pull it off properly. Or perhaps the whole “time is always in flux” concept in Doctor Who will reign supreme and timelines will change to prevent the whole thing from happening. Or, they’ll just forget about it (just like it’s been forgotten that some day the Doctor will have to become Merlin).
Second, we got to see Donna live her dream. It seems that for all her wishes for travel and excitement, her true heart’s desire is to settle down with a nice man and have a family (wearing the exact same wedding dress from her first appearance, apparently). It’s a lifestyle choice that seems to be downplayed in the Who-niverse as a valid alternative. I hope she achieves it at the end of her character arc.
Third, why do the Vashta Narada have to eat? They survived a hundred years without anything to feast on, yet they consume like zombies on the rampage once fresh flesh shows up. My guess is that they don’t consume for nutrition but rather to learn. Essentially, rather than reading or writing or listening or watching to learn, they consume and absorb the knowledge. It would certainly fit into the library theme of the episode. It would have also made it extra-important that they did not eat the Doctor.
Wasn’t that a great bluff at the end? The Vashta Narada had the Doctor dead to rights, and his reputation saved him. Apparently, from eating all those people, the Vashta Narada learned to browse the Internet without even requiring a computer.
I loved how Charlotte reacted with her head in a pillow when the deformed face of Miss Evangelista was shown. It’s exactly the sort of reaction that Doctor Who monsters always got out of children. In effect, we’re watching a child watch an episode of the show. That’s utter brilliance.
The theme of the Doctor’s true name is once again revisited. I hope the current and future producers of the show don’t do anything as stupid as reveal the Doctor’s real name. That would be the final nail in the coffin regarding the character’s mystique.
Exactly how is it saving a life (or group of lives) when you turn them into electronic impulses in a virtual reality machine? Beats the alternative, I suppose.
In CAL’s home there was a picture of a blond girl with a wolf next to it. A little more foreshadowing.
River Song could still return, and not just as a prequel. She just needs a new body.
Here’s what we have. A frightening enemy. A sinister mystery. A possible flame for the Doctor. An excellent episode.
Steve Carell Signs For Three More Years of The Office!
Today the angels looking down on Scranton, Pennsylvania are crooning “Beers in Heaven.” Steve Carell has signed on to star as Dunder Mifflin’s quasi-top dog, Michael Scott, on NBC’s The Office for three more years. An understandably elated, Ricky Gervais, broke the news on his blog…
“Steve Carell (now one of the most bankable film stars in the world) has just signed up for another three years with us. He is the hardest working man in Hollywood and the harder he works the better it is for me. I mean… well done Steve you are wonderful. …Steve had to do months of that in Evan Almighty and I heard he didn’t complain once. He is a very nice man and deserves all his success.”
Gervais went on to mention 2009’s The Office spin-off starring Aziz Ansari but kept mum. He also (half-?) jokingly threw his name into the ring for the role of Hannibal in The A-Team remake. John Singleton, give him a call, no joke. That would be choice.
Back to Carell: the news is a welcome surprise given Carell’s consistent box office draw in hit comedies (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Little Miss Sunshine), sleeper dramas (Dan in Real Life) and passable summer fare (Get Smart). That this rare flexibility has worked out so well on both sides was no doubt a contributing factor in the deal. Why not celebrate by picking up some cupcakes on sale at the grocery store during your lunch break to cheer up your office’s fluorescent-lit hangout room? “That’s what she said!” is going nowhere.
Carell Clocks In for More Office
Michael Scott can look forward to putting in more long, hard, late nights at Dunder-Mifflin Scranton.
At least, that’s what he said.
The “he” in this case being cocreator, executive producer and star of the original British version of The Office, Ricky Gervais, who revealed in a posting on his official website that Steve Carell has renewed his contract for the NBC hit.
“Had some great news today about the American version of The Office,” Gervais wrote. “Steve Carell (now one of the most bankable film stars in the world) has just signed up for another three years with us.
“He is the hardest working man in Hollywood and the harder he works the better it is for me. I mean…well done Steve you are wonderful…He is a very nice man and deserves all his success. I am just as dedicated to my art without compromise but only between the hours of 9 and 3 p.m.”
In addition to revealing the contract coup, Gervais also confirmed another of NBC’s badly kept and somewhat fan-derided scoops: that a satellite Office is already in the works.
Earlier this month, word spread that Rashida Jones, who played Jim’s pre-Pam hookup, Karen, on the show and who currently has a talent holding deal with the network, would be heading up the new cast, though Gervais kept mum on any casting or potential story points.
“We are also working on a spinoff series of the American Office,” he wrote, “but I can’t tell you anything about that yet.”
Jam it anyway.
Newlywed Wentz Dishes On Prenups, Pregnancies and Fake Palm Trees
The wedding may have been Alice in Wonderland, but the honeymoon is shaping up to be more Ashlee in underground.
"We're in the basement of a house," newlywed Pete Wentz told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show this morning. "We've got some, like, blow-up palm trees down here. It's pretty nice, man. A little fake-'n'-bake tanning booth. It's gonna look like we went on a private jet somewhere. And we're gonna save that 30 grand.
"The paparazzi thinks we left on some private jet or whatever. You know, the truth is, we're just sitting down here, eating DiGiorno pizza, getting in that tanning bed every once in a while. It's great, you know."
Sounds it.
But Wentz made clear from the get-go that his subterranean honeymoon was the only thing he was willing to confirm, wifewise. (Listen to the complete interview.)
When matter-of-factly quizzed on his pending parentage, Wentz cautioned Seacrest:
"Ryan, this baby has not been confirmed. The only thing I'm confirming right now is, we're in the basement on our honeymoon with these blow-up palm trees."
When asked later how the two young lovebirds knew the time was right to tie the knot, Wentz was quick to read between the lines. Not that Seacrest doesn't get points for trying.
"I kinda get the backdoor question you're asking me, you know, on that one," the reported father-to-be said. "But, uh, to be honest with you, it's something we've been planning for a long time."
Of the barrage of media leaks leading up to and including the day of the wedding, Wentz said he may be editing his circle of pals. "The thing that's crummy about it, though, is your friendsyou can't trust anyone…People were letting out all kinds of details."
And not just about the nuptials.
"That's what I don't understand about having your friends around you and trust and those kinds of things…All of a sudden people decide that, 'Oh, you're confirming the baby because you…' A nonconfirmation is a confirmation, and that's how it works in Hollywood."
Not that all things Ashlee are off-limits.
For one thing, Wentz confirmed that the Simpson clan is officially down one member, at least in name.
"I don't know what she is with her stage name," he said of his new wife. "That's all up to her. I don't think she's decided that yet. But legally, she's a Wentz, yes."
A Wentz who, it seems, had a little premarital guidance from a business manager.
"We have signed a prenup, actually," Wentz offered. "Yeah."
As for future plans for the legally wed pair, the rocker said that while they "hope to" have an actual honeymoon soon, it may need to wait to allow for professional obligations to pass: His band, Fall Out Boy, plays a show on Saturday and the missus goes on tour next week.
As for talking shop on his in-laws, Wentz is keeping mumor playing dumbfor now.
"I don't know anything about what's going on with them," he said of Simpson-in-law Jessica and her maybe footballer beau.
"To be honest with you, I'm so busy clearing up my own rumors that I never have any time to clear up anyone else's…Tony Romo danced with my grandma, so I think that was pretty insane. My grandma had no idea who Tony Romo was, and I don't think Tony Romo had any idea who my grandma was, so it was just dancing that was going on."
But, potentially manufactured tabloid drama aside, the wedding was a success, if he does say so himself.
"It seemed like it was a good time."