Dr Who 50th anniversary thoughts - contains some spoilers

With an explosion of greatest hits for the new era, but with enough homage to the classic era to keep long term fans happy, the 50^th anniversary special of Dr Who launched onto our screens.  The show was a big part of my childhood and even in adulthood it is as important in my life as it was back then with its ability to inspire, entertain and teach us all about morality, whilst never getting boring due to an unlimited scope for adventures in time and space and a lead character who can change his appearance as a way to beat death.

Since the show was brought back in 2005 there have been references to the time war, a huge war encompassing the whole of time and space between the Time Lords and the Daleks.  The Doctor was dealing with the genocide he brought on his own people and the Daleks to save the whole of the Universe.   He killed to save countless more.  Through the years since 2005 we have been fed little tidbits to put together piece by piece, always wondering at the grandeur of that immense war.  Would we get to see it?  I had often thought we would see a spin off movie of the time war done as a prequel, designed more for the American audience with huge special effects and either a returning Paul McGann or even Christopher Eccleston. 

But we did get a returning McGann for the 50^th anniversary special for the small teaser mini episode that showed McGann regenerating into John Hurt and the reasons behind it.   This was a very exciting moment, but also reminded me that McGann never got a fair crack at the whip in regards Dr Who.

The Main 50^th anniversary episode was a superb culmination to the Time War story ark, but also carried it on with a poignant ending of hope and a whole new and exciting story ark.   A friend said they were disappointed because it wasn't a one off adventure but another part to a continuing story and though I see her point, I was happy with this and in fact it is probably the one part of the new Dr Who that I prefer to the classic era; long term plot-lines and story arks.  This one even explained a particular ending to an episode from 2007.

With three doctors, including David Tennant coming back for another stab at the part that he always seemed tailor made for, and Legendary actor John Hurt playing a previous unknown Doctor who fought in the Time War joining Matt Smith, this harked back to the anniversary episodes of the classic era by having more than one Doctor.  With even Billie Piper returning as Rose – well sort of.  She was immensely popular as a companion in the first two series since the comeback; however I found the romance angle a little wrong for the show and always preferred Catherine Tate as Donna, who was simply a friend to the Doctor.

Clearly from the scenes together, Matt and David had a lot of fun working together and playing a kind of one-upmanship with each other, especially with the Zygon/Queen Elizabeth scenes.  Bring in a more serious, grownup, but still dry, John Hurt to counter the almost childish antics of the other two and we had some great moments on screen.  In fact, as with Paul McGann it seems almost a shame we probably won’t get to see more of John Hurt in the part.  His was a very dark doctor, a warrior to end the biggest war in the history of the universe. 

Surprises were plentiful and it was a credit to the makers that in the days of the Internet, nothing major really leaked.  We were treated to a great pay off with all doctors helping to save the day, including a nice teasing debut for Peter Capaldi.  This in itself was enough in some ways, but then they moved the dial up to 11 with Tom Baker as ‘The Curator’.  Was he a later version of the Doctor, having reached the end of his life, choosing to travel through his past in his favorite body, guiding previous incarnations like a Mafia consigliere?  This was hinted at when Matt Smith said he would love to be a Curator.  The Final scene with William Hartnell looking on at all the doctors was also a touching moment that brings shivers to me even as I write this.

Of course this was not a perfect episode as nothing is perfect.  It would have been nice if Christopher Eccleston hadn't seemed to want so desperately not to be connected to the show and just agreed to a minute or two broadcasting time by showing the complete regeneration of John  Hurt into his doctor with a simple proclamation that he had been “fantastic!”  This though is a very minute issue and at least Eccleston is honest about his time on the show, he could have gone through the motions, making enough money to be made for life, then left, but he didn't want to do that.

Of course, the BBC didn't just celebrate the 50^th anniversary with this episode; they threw everything at us, including the kitchen sink.  There were two excellent documentaries, a rebroadcasting of the first ever story (all four episodes), and a very emotional docudrama that showed us how Dr Who was first made, and the first three seasons, following William Hartnell as he went from a minor character actor, type cast in certain rolls, to the biggest TV roll in British television.  It was brilliantly made and actually quite sad at the end when you realize how much Hartnell loved playing the character but the tough schedule simply became too much for him and he was let go.  There were a couple of Turkeys – One Direction, why!?  The top ten countdown for the greatest monsters looked great on paper but was ruined by showing only episodes from 2005 on-wards and even second or first parts only in two part stories.  It would have been better done as a top fifty show over one night.  Or with a different presenter, due to the one they chose, clearly not a fan with his stupid jokes.

With the 50^th anniversary show closing with the start of a new story ark – the doctor trying to find Gallifrey and the knowledge that Matt Smith is stepping down to regenerate into Peter Capalidi, the show will again, reinvent it self whilst keeping the same themes that have served it well over the last 50 years.

Here’s to another 50 years.

Enders Game

In the past few months I have spoken about my excitement for some big movies this year with Enders Game clearly number one.  I spoke of my love of the book in my last blog and last weekend, with a little babysitting help from my sister in law, the wife and I went to see it.

The movie, based on the 1985 novel by Orson Scott Card has been in development for years.  It has been described as unfilmable due to a lot of the novel taking place in the principle character Enders’ head as he analysis’s events and also due in some part to the zero g combat classes of the Battle school.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine director Gavin Hood was given the task of bringing it to the big screen with Asa Butterfiled was given the all important role of Ender Wiggin.  Heavyweights Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley were both cast in all important supporting roles. 

During the build up to the release of the movie, a lot had been made of Orson Scott Cards’ much reported political opinions, in particular his views on gay marriage.  Personally I don’t agree with them, but as anybody who has the read the book will say, these views don’t manifest in it as he has created a future world of many cultures working together to save Earth from an alien threat.  The calls to boycott the movie seemed a waste of time when you realize the author won’t profit from the movie, so it would be best to boycott his books!

Anyway, enough of the politics, and onto the movie.

The plot of the novel comes 70 years after Earth was nearly destroyed in an invasion by an insect like alien race called the Formics, but saved by the skills of a commander.  Fearing a final invasion, it is decided to train your children due to become future commanders   Ender is a 3^rd child (in a society where by families only have 2 children) and is the biggest hope for mankind.  He joins Battle School (an orbiting space station where the commanders are trained in combat) and makes his way up through the system to the final act in the novel (and the twists).

SPOLERS ahead

My biggest fear with the movie was how much was going to be changed.  The trailer had hinted at a Hollywood style ending with a large scale battle – which in the book isn’t played out.  Had they decided to ignore the twist that Ender and his team were not taking part in the final test at command school and go for the big spectacular battle?  Luckily this was not the case and in fact the battle was an elaborate VR sequence to the children s’ (and the audience) point of view.

Of course there were changes.  There had to be to make it work on the big screen.  In the novel the passage of time of a few years but in the movie it is a matter of months.  I agree with the producers that this was needed to keep the same actors in the parts and not confuse the audience by having two or three children playing the same role at different ages of the character.

One slight change I didn’t like was that in the novel we are told they are training the children for a third invasion, with one of the twists being that in fact we are invading them.  In the movie it is clear very early on that we have sent an invasion fleet.

The dropping of the Valentine/Peter stort ark was a sad loss as it predicted online political blogs influencing the world of politics, however it would have made the movie too long and maybe bored the average movie goer who wanted big action scenes.

The only issue I have is the moving of the command center from Eros (an asteroid in the solar system) to an old colony of the Formics a few light years away.  This led to a change at the end whereby Ender leaves on his own to become the speaker for the dead, and not with Valentine.  If there is a sequel and they base it on the speaker for the dead this may course issues as she is a vital character in those books.  If they go with the Enders Shadow sequence of the books for a sequel then missing out the Peter/Valentine ark may course problems as well.  But with it not being quite as successful financially as they had hoped I suspect a sequel will be a long time coming.

The other minor difference is the downplaying of Bean and the more prominent story for Petra (she becomes his all important Lieutenant).  The character of Bean is a great one (especially in the shadow sequence).  But it is a movie and you need a strong female character to be a foil to Ender on the big screen.  At least they didn’t make her a love interest!

But apart from these changes which are mainly subtle, I was very pleased with the adaptation.  Asa was perfect as Ender, taking his almost phobia like fear for his brother Peter and the love of his sister to new levels.  He brings out the initial loneliness of the character, whilst developing the respect he has for his colleagues and friends over time.  Some have said the two big scenes where he “stops future fights” bullys is to PG when compared to the novel but I thought they were done brilliantly and were very intense scenes. On a side note the kid playing Bonzo made him someone you really hated!

The notion that parents can’t have more than two children and the social implications if they do, are not explored in the movie enough. But for the casual movie goer this is probably not an issue.

Visually the movie is excellent with battle school exactly as I imagined it in my mind when reading the book.  The zero G mock battles are kept to a minimum in the movie when compared to the book, but it would have go very samey and boring fast it this hadn't had been done.  I was also pleased with the way they handled the parts where Ender plays the mind games as this was always going to be tricky to put onto film but it conveys his fears very well.

In the end, my fears were null and void, as I came out of the cinema very pleased.  My wife who hadn't read the book loved it too.  I had thought before the movie it would appeal more to those who haven’t read the book, but am glad they managed to keep me as a fan of the book happy, whilst simply making a good science fiction movie.  Would I say it is the greatest SF movie?  It is up there and is probably the best of the year – Oblivion is a close second.  But it may need repeated viewing before I can compare it to the likes of Alien and Blade Runner.

researching the science fiction genre

Writing is much like the world of Triathlon and Running for me.  When I race, I do so having put the training in.  This training itself will be also split into different periods of training from the all important base period, where I get the base fitness or foundation to allow me to train and race hard, to the build period where I take that base fitness and add speed up.

The Same process is in some ways done for writing.  You can’t just jump into the process of writing; you have to prepare for it properly from researching to planning the particular piece.  But the all important base period of writing is reading.  If you don’t read you can forget about being a writer.

When I started reading science fiction a few years ago, I simply purchased three books from Waterstones in their old ‘3 for 2’ offer to give the genre ago – having always enjoyed it on TV and at the cinema.  These three books were “Stealing Light” by Gary Gibson, “Pushing Ice” by Alastair Reynolds and “Pandora’s Star” by Peter F Hamilton. 

What drew me to them is absolutely clear – I know I chose “Pushing Ice” due to being fascinated by the idea of Reynolds sticking to the laws of physics and this book seemed the “easier” of his standalone novels to try.  “Pandoras Star” had the vibe of a Star Trek style story (although I didn’t realise it was part of a two book saga with “Judas Uprising”).  Whilst I had been recommended “Stealing Light” via the Amazon email and the idea of Mankind having to piggy back another Alien Civilizations FTL starships to get around, seemed a novel idea.

From there my love of science fiction in the written form exploded and I knew deep down that this was what I wanted to write.  There would be no limit with this genre.  A few years ago I had tried writing some science fiction and thought it would be kind of ‘hip’ to become a science fiction writer without actually reading it, but I was glad I didn't as I would have failed miserably!  Because to write science fiction, you need to read and appreciated the man sub genres of it and this is where I get the point of this blog.  After a while I became fascinated with the idea of reading the classics of science fiction.  So every so often, I set out to read some and get a better understanding and appreciation for the limitless potential of science fiction. 

Over the last couple of years I have read American Military Science Fiction classics like “The Forever War” (along with peace and free) by John Haldeman and “Starship Troopers” by Robert A Heinlein.  Both excellent reads, with “Starship Troopers” a fascinating look at a military led government fighting a war using cannon fodder and showing the fast rise through the command structure from grunt to leader for one man who simply wanted a vote.  Most people will know the very poor movie adaptation (although it is fun in a silly way) but the book has a more serious tone.  “Forever War” was a book I very much enjoyed; wrote at a time of the Vietnam War, this was a science fiction novel with parallels to that war – young conscripts are sent across the stars to fight against an alien race that aren't really a threat to Mankind.  It also deals wonderfully with the effects of time dilation due to near light speed travel as the lead character spends a few years of subjective time whilst a thousand years pass on Earth and he experiences huge changes in society.

Recently I completed “The foundation trilogy” by Isaac Asimov, although written in the 1940s and 1950s, it hasn't aged one bit with some ideas and theories still in use in today's science fiction – in fact if I didn't know it was written all those years ago I would have thought it was no older than ten years.  This of course answers that one question – what constitutes a classic novel?  Is it that it is critically acclaimed?  Or sold a lot of copies?  Or is it simply that it still feels fresh decades later?  It would be the last one for me, because critics thought “The Road” was great and I was bored senseless by it!

At the moment I am reading “The Mars Trilogy” by Kim Stanley Robinson.  I completed the first in the series – “Red Mars” and have just started the second “Green Mars” with “Blue Mars” to come.  This trilogy focuses on the colonization of Mars and the eventual issues that would come about in the near future.  “Red Mars” had ideas that I would never have dreamed of, but in hindsight are vital to a story like this.  The overpopulation of Earth due to drugs making the life expectancy of people a lot more – it seems like common sense, but in fact gets missed out of a lot of science fiction.  Issues on immigration, the heavy influence of transnational corporations over nation states and battle to keep Mars separate from these Earth based problems are tackled superbly.  I really can see why Arthur C Clarke described it as the greatest novel on the colonization of Mars.   I look forward to reading further into the trilogy.

Of course one issue with reading classic science fiction is when they get future dates very wrong.  “The Forever War” was written in the early 70s and has mankind able to use wormhole technology to get to the stars in the late 1990s.  Another example is Philip K Dick with “Do Androids dream of electric sleep” set in 1992 and again has travel to nearby stars.  But these are minor details and you just ignore it and concentrate on the actual story and writing.  Talking of “Do Androids dream of electric sheep,” this was my first ‘classic’ mainly because it was loosely adapted into my favorite science fiction movie “Blade Runner. Dealing with android technology, the breaking of their coding and a post nuclear war society this is every bit as good as the movie.

Finally, I leave my favorite ‘classic” to the end – “Enders Game” by Orson Scott Card and the subsequent Enders shadow saga that followed and the parallel series “Enders Shadow.”  This follows a young child who is our last great hope as we prepare for a final invasion by an alien race we only just defeated 70 years before.  Ender is seemingly the perfect commander and it follows his training, isolation from others as he becomes the perfect commander.   It was written in 1986 and includes a future where we use a global communication network via tablet like computers (much like today) and political commentators write blogs via this same network to influence governments of Earth.  With the movie out now (I will see it on Sunday as we have the sister in law babysitting!) I’ll write more on it next week and my love of the series as a whole.

I know I have a lot of classics to read in the future to give me that great “base fitness” for science fiction writing.  Arthur C Clarke being a particular author I should read.  I also have “War of the worlds” to read and should check out some Larry Niven.

   

Fatherhood

This blog entry has kind of taken a change over the last few weeks.  I had intended to write about “Riddick” the 3^rd in a trilogy staring Vin Diesel.  But on Thursday 26^th September in the morning my wife woke up to some strange pains that stop and start.  She was in labour!  Little Rhys Daniel Morgan decided he wanted to come just under 5 weeks early and give us a little shock.

It is nearly three weeks since he was born and it has been the greatest and most challenging three weeks of my life so far.  But I wouldn't have it any other way.  Obviously writing has taken a bit of a back burner, although have managed to do some studying for the Writers Bureau course.

His first 10 days were spent in the Neonatal department in Special Care Baby Unit at the George Elliot hospital in Nuneaton due to being born premature and also because he had a little difficulty breathing when first born.   He was inhaling OK but was having difficulty exhaling so had to have a tube down him to help him after being born.  We were warned that if he couldn't breathe unaided then he would need to be transferred to either Leicester or Coventry hospital as they were set up better for this and was told it was 50/50.  But he is my son and my DNA is full of stubbornness so after a couple of hours he was breathing on his own - much to our delight.  It has been rather stressful as my wife had only had a small chance to hold him post birth and I had to wait till the next day – I did get to cut the cord and was with my wife the whole way which as any father will tell you is an experience that probably can’t be put into words unless you have seen it happen for yourself.

We were able to both stay at the hospital as they gave us a side room which meant they could get a bed in for me – this meant my wife was away from the other mothers who had they babies with them.  We could go down any time, night or day, to spend time with him which we of course did.  My wife was discharged after three days at her own request.  She could have stayed there for as long as needed but felt she was better off at home where she could sleep better and recover for Rhys.  For the next few days we would leave home after lunch and be home 9pm.  I got a reputation for falling asleep in the chair and we would practice changing him, feeding him and generally bonding with him as best we could whilst still in an incubator.  One night we returned as we were both missing him and spent a couple of hours with him at 10pm.

Each day he showed great progress.  Considering he was premature, and born five weeks early he was a rather big 6lbs 7 so it was probably best for the wife he came out earlier!  He went from being in an incubator, to having phototherapy for Jaundice (seeing him with his eyes covered up was a little hard), to being tube fed, to being part tube/part bottle fed to being moved into a cot and finally into a side room where the wife stayed with him as a “halfway house” to see he was ready to go home.  It must be said that the staff at the hospital were superb, very helpful and understanding.  They also genuinely loved him and were clearly had mixed feelings when we left with him as they were glad he was well enough, but sad to see him go.

Of course now the fun began as we finally got to be proper parents – living on 5-6 disturbed hours of sleep a night (if we were lucky!), feeding him, bathing him, changing him, being pissed on/pooed on/puked on whilst changing him to enjoying lots of cuddles with him.  I've spent time up with him on the sofa catching up with Sky plus at 3am just because all he wants it a cuddle and won’t relax unless we hold him! 

The wife and I have our system in the night – I get up to get the milk ready whilst she cuddles him.  I found I was dropping off with him in my arms and felt I woke up better if I jumped out of bed and made the bottle up.

Of course through all this hardship, it must be added, that it is of course a rewarding experience.  We keep finding little mannerisms in him that come from us, for example, he likes to open one eye whilst sleeping to look around, which I do when napping.  When I've had a hard run or race, coming home, having a shower then a cuddle with him is a great feeling.  The challenge is there and we've had lots of help and support from friends and family – but really we are kind of learning on the job and blagging it using instinct. 

Anyway, Riddick was very good, and much like Pitch Black in tone and style.  But that’s not important anymore.  

Discovering science fiction

With just a few weeks to go until the birth of my first child, it has got me thinking about some of the ‘firsts’ in science fiction that I can enjoy with him (if he enjoys them as well of course).  And frankly there are a lot!

As a big Dr Who fan, it isn't so much his first episode, but more his first Doctor.  Every Dr Who fan has their Doctor; this should be the Doctor who was on television just when you were old enough to understand the storylines and what is going on, whilst still being young enough to be scared a little by what they were seeing on television.  I was about 8, so it was Sylvester McCoy for me, and I still have memories of nervously watching ‘The Curse of Fenwick’ with my mum!

Although I don’t think they are the greatest science fiction movies that their fans will say, but the Star Wars movies are still a big part of the genre, helping to make it popular in the late 70’s.  Of course it would be chronologically correct to watch the prequels with him first, but that spoils the great moment I had as a kid when I saw Empire Strikes Back – when we find out Darth Vader is Lukes father.  I was in hospital having suffered a concussion after thinking it was big and clever to run on the playground when it was icy and slipped and banged my head!   The nurses on the ward gave us the choice of what to watch; that or Back to the Future and Empire Strikes back won through.  I was so shocked by finding out Vader was Lukes father I couldn't wait to tell my mum!

Star Trek was also a big part of my childhood, even getting to see all the movies after Part III at the cinema (I missed the Star Wars trilogy by a few years) and reruns of the original TV series as again my mum was a big fan.  Yes, like a lot of science fiction fans of today, my mum was a big influence!  I remember playing as a child at school, pretending to be Captain Kirk, setting phasers to stun and taking on the Klingons.  Obviously I will try to explain to future son and heir that ‘Voyager’ was just a big mistake!

Finally there is the reboot of Battlestar Galactica, which is my favourite TV series of all time.  But due to the more adult nature of the series, probably one for when he’s a little older, when I expect there will have been another reboot as there are always rumors of this happening.  I watched the original as a kid, so he will be fine with that, but the newer version has more TV violence in places and adult themes of sex, power, politics, philosophy and religion that may go over his head. 

Of course there is a lot more science fiction from books to other movies/TV series and of course conventions to enjoy with him.  Plus a few more years until he’s old enough to enjoy these and plenty of time for new and exciting science fiction that we can both enjoy for the first time together.

Peter Capaldi- the 12th Doctor

Now the dust has settled on the big announcement on BBC1 last Sunday, I will talk about the unveiling of the 12^th Doctor Who (well 13^th if John Hurt REALLY is a “between” Doctor from the Time War). 

For me and other Dr Who fans, this is one of the biggest acting jobs in TV and comparable to the James Bond and even Superman gigs.  The actor in the role must almost live the role and with a nine month filming schedule each year, this isn't far from the truth!

Every fan has “their” doctor, the one they grew up with or relate to the most.  For me, this should be the doctor who was on TV when you’re at that age where you’re old enough to understand what is going on, but young enough to still feel a bit scared and look at that sofa as a great hiding spot.  For me that would be Sylvester McCoy.  Although I have vague memories of watching Colin Baker, it was the 7^th Doctor where I became a fan, tuning every episode to watch.  Just a shame it came late in the initial 26 season run and was cancelled when I was 9.

During the next few years, I started to become almost obsessed, reading novel adaptations of old adventures, that I hired from the library, and buying videos – I was even in the Dr Who Appreciated Society!  But by the time of the 1996 BBC America TV movie my interest was beginning to wane a little as, and I hate to admit this now, went off science fiction and discovered other TV and movie interests.  Looking back I suppose I grew up a little and didn't have the same sense of wonder for the dodgy special effects and sets!

Then a few years later in 2005, it was announced that Dr Who was returning for a new series created by Russell T Davis who I knew had created the cult classic “Queer as Folk” – a show I never watched (I was more of a “This Life” fan) and the excellent “The Second Coming”; a contemporary look at the second coming of Jesus Christ staring Christopher Eccleston, a mini series I really enjoyed and only last week came in to my mind as a great piece of writing I would love to see again.

Christopher Eccleston was announced as the new Doctor, an actor I had been a huge fan of from his roles in “Our Friends in the North”, “Shallow Grave”, “Gone in 60 seconds” and the aforementioned “Second Coming”.  It was interesting to see how the serious but versatile actor would do with the role.

But a strange thing happened, I wasn't that bothered about it.  I almost missed the first episode “Rose”.  I think I was still unsure of the show.  After watching, more out of curiosity, I was very impressed and pleased I watched it.  Billie Piper was actually very good as his new companion and Christopher Eccleston was a revelation as The Doctor, playing a darker more intense Doctor, but still having the childlike excitement over life in a vast Universe – his use of the word “fantastic” was a great touch.  The series had vastly improved effects and a long running story arc that kept the viewer gripped.  The writing was superb, with the return of the Doctors’ fiercest nemesis in the poignant “Dalek” in which we actually feel a little sorry for the lonely dalek with no orders to follow and no purpose in life, a particular highlight.

Unfortunately the end of the series had a dark cloud over it when Eccleston unfortunately decided to leave after one series, fearing becoming typecast.  The final episode would climax with regeneration.  His replacement was to be David Tennant, and actor I had no real history with having not watched his big breakthrough “Casanova” and having also only gotten into Harry Potter after he was in Dr Who.  His Doctor though was a joy, bringing a feel of an older and wiser man in a youthful body.  His enthusiasm and energy was none stop, but my favorite part of his take on The Doctor was when he became judgmental.  He would always give the villain(s) a second chance to stop what they were doing or redeem themselves and if they didn’t then game over.  Over his three seasons and set of specials he became my favorite Doctor.  Russell T Davis’ run was brilliant in this period, with some very emotional moments – anybody who didn't have a tear running down their cheek when Rose is trapped in the parallel universe or Donna Noble gains immense powers that will kill her and then has to have her memory wiped so she never remembers her life with him, are not human.

Inn fact when I was announced he was leaving, I was genuinely sorry to see him go.  The moment leading up to his regeneration and the actual regeneration was very emotional (poor Wilf!) and the acting from Tennant inspiring.

His replacement Matt Smith seemed a strange choice at first – he’s too young and barely over puberty were the initial thoughts.  But within minutes of his first episode and the eating of fish fingers with custard, I knew they had someone special in the role.    New head of the show was Steven Moffat who had worked as a writer on the show previously stamped his own ideas on the show with more far out story arks and ideas.  Some fans were confused and disappointed but during all, this Matt Smith was another revelation in the role, carrying on Tennants’ “old mind in a young body” boundless energy but adding a more quirky nature, bordering on a bumbling eccentric like personality.   When the rumors started that he may be leaving after three years, I thought he had at least one more in him, but the nine month filming schedule must get too hard after a while.

So the rumors of his replacement started.  At the time I wanted “Sherlock” actor Benedict Cumberbatch as I felt he would be superb in the role but it was clear after playing Khan in the recent Star Trek movie, this was never going to happen.  Other favourites were Rory Kinnear who based on his role in James Bond didn't fill me with great confidence (not knocking him as an actor, just seemed too straight laced and not far out enough).  There was even talk of a black Dr Who or even a woman.  Both of these would have felt like being very politically correct and not simply because a black actor or an actress were the best available people for the role.

Last week it was announced that as part of a live special the following Sunday we would find out who it was.  Suddenly from no where “Thick of It” actor Peter Capalid became the bookies favorite.  An actor who had appeared in a Tennant episode and the spin off series “Torchwood”, was an older actor who I admit to not knowing much about, having never seen “Thick of it”.  But I was excited by the prospect.

Of course it could have been one huge smokescreen, designed to throw people of the sent.  But for once, the bookies actually were right and he was announced.  At 55 and only a few months younger than the first Doctor Willam Hartnell when he started in the first episode, Capaldi will be the second oldest actor to play him.  After a few seasons of gentle flirting between a young hip Doctor and his female companions, it will make a change to have an older gent, who will be more of a father/uncle figure without being too creepy.  It comes to be seen how he will play him, but I see him being a little more serious, quieter and darker as he technically nears the end of his life (in Dr Who mythology this should be his last but one regeneration).

Of course not everybody is happy, with many people slating his age and saying he’s too old.  This has led me to believe there are actually people out there who believe the show was created by Russell T Davis in 2005! 

But everybody should give him a chance – as I said earlier, Matt Smith was too young in a lot of people eyes, but became a very popular Doctor.

One last question?  Will Steven Moffat resist to urge to call the Christmas episode that Matt regenerates in to the 12th Doctor, "Twelfth Night"?  

Can you sign my Kindle?

Last week I talked about my recent evening at a book signing for Alastair Reynolds’ new Dr Who novel.  It has got my thinking about these events in general and the affect they will experience due to the explosion in E-Readers and downloadable books.

Now I will be honest, it will be difficult to be subjective on the whole notion of E-Readers, due to me loving books.  I love flicking through them, I love the feel, I love the smell of them and due to being a bit of a book snob, I love showing them off on my book shelf to any visitors to my house.

From someone who loves his Ipod, this may be strange to grasp; I have no issue with my music on a small sterile piece of electronics and a lot of music fans have the same feelings on Ipods as I do with E-Readers.  However, I can buy both the physical music and then transfer it onto my Ipod via my laptop – I can’t plug a book into the laptop to do the same!  Maybe this could be a new marketing tool for Amazon to up their sales of Kindles – purchase a book and you will also get a free “download” of it to the Kindle, meaning people will get the best of both worlds - the ease and convenience of the E-Reader, but also the actual physical book for their shelves and to experience the book in all its glory. 

Going back to my original point though, books will always have a place as long as writers wish to hold events in book stores, showcasing their latest literary work and interacting with their audience.  It would be amusing if someone came to an event like this with their E-Reader and asked for it to be signed due to the writers’ latest work being on it!

As someone trying to become a published writer, I hope one day to be in a position to have a book signing event at a local book store, so hope the E-Reader doesn't force the book to go the way of the audio cassette!  But I doubt it as I am sure there are enough people out there who still prefer the humble book. 

The Revelation Space Universe.

Three weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the final book signing event for Alastair Reynolds new Dr Who novel ‘Harvest of Time’ in Bath.  He had done a small tour around small independent book stores and this one was held at the excellent ‘Topping & Company” store – a small intimate shop that I know I could lose myself in for hours on end, browsing, and then coming out having spent a small fortune. 

Bath is around two and a half hours from me, but with the event coming during a two week holiday from work; it seemed a good excuse to explore a town I’ve never been to before.  Plus the wife liked the idea of a nice meal before the event (I had concerns it may be too much for her as she was 5 months pregnant, but she insisted!)

It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and Alastair was very interesting as he read a couple of extracts from the new novel, talked about the process involved in writing the novel and had a question and answers session, before winding down with a signing session.  He didn’t rush anybody and was happy to talk to everybody for as long as they wanted.  For me personally it was a superb learning experience to hear how a full time novelist goes about his work and he gave me some excellent advise for the editing part of the process – try and edit out 10% of the first draft – which he learnt from Stephen King which in hindsight is probably fairly obvious and makes a lot of sense, due to this weaving out sections of waffling and repetitive writing. 

This evening also tied in nicely to the end of my journey through his ‘Revelation Space’ series in chronological order which involved reading the ‘Inhibitors Trilogy’ (‘Revelation Space’, ‘Redemption Ark’ and ‘Absolution Gap’), the two stand alone novels ‘The Prefect’ and ‘Chasm City’, the two novellas ‘Diamond Dogs’ and ‘Turquoise Days’ and the eight short stories that make up ‘Galactic North’.  I used a loose chronological order that I had found on the Internet but some of the stories intertwine date wise without having much effect on each other. 

WARNING POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD

For me, ‘Revelation Space’ is the greatest future history series that I have read.  We weave through a future of dystopian societies, various human factions fighting over their own ideologies, against a backdrop showing the rise and fall of mankind through a destructive part computer/part biological virus, to an almost extinction brought on by a one billion year old machine race, finally ending with the final strains of humanity running away from their own created doomsday event.

All this is done within the constraints of the laws of physics and features a lot of legitimate theories with Alastair using his own knowledge and experience from his career as a space scientist.  Interstellar travel is done at speeds below lightspeed with steady accelerations at the beginning of twenty year voyages, and steady de-accelerations at the end with time dilation a very real effect of travelling close to the speed of light.  Nanotechnology is in abundance as mankind uses it to help prolong their lives and help them in every day life.  Space battles take weeks to be completed and minute debris are a very real danger for the huge ‘lighthuggers’ that make the journeys between the stars, due to the energy shield only being the stuff of fantasy. 

This is ‘hard sci’fi’ at its very best.  But he does still include elements of ‘space opera’ with big expansive narrative structures, planet hopping, a billion year old war and a machine race looking to stop any culture or race moving out of the stars due to a galactic wide catastrophic event billions of years in the future. 

At times, his vision of humanity in five hundred years is bleak, hard and with a wider class structure.  With no central government, colonies are left to create their own societies.  From the success and grandeur of pre ‘melding plague’ Chasm City, to the long suffering territorial war on Skys Edge, to the on off revolutions of the archaeological colony of Resurgam and back to the post ‘melding plague’ era of Chasm City where society has almost been destroyed and the ruling classes have experienced huge life changes due to the plague and technology has inverted back to almost 19^th century industrial revolution levels in places. 

In amongst this are several prominent factions.  There are the hive-like conjoiners who are connected by their implants and have an increased intellect.  The Ultras who crew the lighthuggers and due to long years spent in the radiation filled climate of outer space have exchanged almost all of their human elements with machine parts to protect themselves.  Then there are the pigs, genetically engineered biped pigs with borderline human like intelligence, who have a huge chip on their shoulder for reasons obvious to the reader   Strangest of all though,  are the base humans who haven’t done anything to themselves!

There is no black or white in this series with most characters covering a very grey area of good and evil, all seeking redemption of one kind or another.  Characters that on paper, may be good, have parts of their personality that may hide a darker past.  On the flip side characters that are blatantly evil also have a fair, and good nature and redeem themselves near the end of their story arks.  There are also genuine tragic moments – who can honestly say they aren’t moved when Clavain is killed by his best friend Scorpio due to this being the only way to save a baby who is the key to humanities survival.

A common theme in the series is some truly horrific moments (not his writing as he replied to me, after I had pointed this out to him!).  He said he couldn’t write a horror story, but there are some scenes and moments in the series that frankly disturb and scare me.   I have a chill going down my spine just thinking about the scrimsaw suit in ‘Absulution Gap’ where you are trapped in a metal suit, with only a centimetre of space between you and the suit and deprived of all your senses for years on end whilst being kept alive.  Or the ending in his short story ‘Nightingale’ which makes the movie ‘Human Centipede’ seem like an everyday occurrence in kindergarten!   The brutal, obsessive bodily alterations in his novella ‘Diamond Dogs’ also comes straight to mind as well.  This is almost the complete opposite of the future history depicted in Star Trek or in Iain M Banks ‘Culture’ novels.

As I end my thoughts on the ‘Revelation Space’ series I am trying to think of one defining or favourite moment; The tragic realisation of who Tanner Mirabel really is comes straight to mind from my favourite book in the series – ‘Chasm City’.  The sad death of Clavain; a man of integrity who stands by his beliefs (right or wrong) throughout.   But for me great science fiction must have a ‘wow factor’ in it, a moment that makes you just sit there and go ‘Wow!’ This would probably the be moment the Inhibitors are unleashed.  Or the aforementioned Tanner Mirabel reveal.  Or any of the series really.  

After Earth

In a previous blog I had talked about the new Star Trek movie “Into Darkness” and how it was one of the top four movies I was looking forward to the most this year.  But there was a fifth movie and that was “After Earth”.  Well me and the wife went to see it at the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it – even if we appear to be the only people who did!

Just be warned what follows contains SPOILERS and unusually for an Internet Blog – positive thoughts on M Night Shyamalan.

“After Earth” (AE in this blog) is set a thousand years in the future where Mankind has left Earth to move to a new star system after nearly destroying it.  Unfortunately there is an alien race called the S’krell who are blind but ‘see’ using the human fear against them.  The rangers corp battle them but it isn't until Cypher (Will Smith) learns to switch off his fear and defeat them without them knowing where he is – this is called ‘Ghosting’ in the movie and he trains others in this new technique.  His son Kitai (Jaden Smith) doesn't make the cut with the rangers so Cyper takes him on a mission for some father/son time but they crash land on Earth with Cypher badly injured leaving Kitai to get across to the tail end of the ship to send a distress signal.

What follows is a basic ‘coming of age’ story as Kitai battles with his own fear and possible cowardly tendencies (his sister was killed by a S’Krell when he was younger and he watched whilst hiding in a glass bowl) whilst having to deal with a frankly pushy father who doesn’t know who to be a dad – just a commander.  Real life father and son, Will and Jaden Smith are both fantastic in the movie.  Will Smith has none of his usual wisecracks and joking around – he is very serious playing the archetypal career military man, even expecting his own son to call him sir like he was one of his soldiers.  For Jaden this is very much his coming of age role as he carries the weight of the movie on his shoulders for long parts.  But this burden doesn’t get to him and he goes from cocky brat to a man ready to fight for his family and those he loves.

M Night Shyamalan has his critics (most of the human race!) and I've never really understood this.  He creates very original stories and yes, there are one of two plot-holes (‘Signs’ – why would an alien race that is allergic to water invade a planet made up of 90% water?!) but he can be the master of the great twist.  Which is probably his problem, he created one cinemas greatest twist with the ending of ‘The Sixth Sense’ and has never quite followed it up – but what filmmaker could?  ‘Unbreakable’ was a great superhero movie with the great Samuel L Jackson reveal at the end. But I can’t defend him for ‘The Happening’ – that was just awful and very dull!

But strangely M Night Shyamalan hasn’t included his trademark ‘big twist’ in the movie, focussing more on the journey Kitai makes.  He possibly missed a trick as a little tweak here and there, and we as the audience could have been shocked to find out the mysterious planet was Earth (this would have meant a name change!).  Admittedly this would be almost copying the twist at the end of the original ‘Planet of the Apes’ but could have been a great twist nonetheless. 

One review I read theorized that the whole movie was a Scientology advert with Will Smith and M Night Shyamalan pushing a Scientology agenda.  Regardless of whether this is true of not is immaterial as a lot of filmmakers have pushed their own political or religious agendas.  James Cameron clearly pushed his issues with the Iraq War and America’s foreign policy on cinema goers with the excellent ‘Avatar’.  Steven Spielberg did the same with the updated version of ‘War of the worlds’ and as far back as the middle of the 20^th Century C S Lewis included a lot of Christian references in ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’  

Visually AE is superb and M Night Shyamalan uses theories based on what would happen is Mankind disappeared with the environment returning to how it was before mankind marked its stamp on it.  There is a shot showing Buffaloes back on the prairies and some animals have evolved – the big eagle is guaranteed to bring a tear to the eyes of the hardest of souls!

Another party of the movie I liked was the future history side and ideas that make logical sense.  Mankind has gotten so used to the slightly different atmosphere of its new home that the air of Earth is a little harder for them so need to take regular medication to help breath on the planet’s surface.    Kitai also remarked on feeling a little heavier on Earth – a little touch (different gravity strengths on different planets) that is often left out of movie science fiction but is taken for granted in its written form.

Finally, for me a good movie should course some kind of emotional response, whether it’s a tear at the end of a tragic story/feel good moment or joy for the hero/heroine.  The ending with Cypher saluting Kitai brought a nice man shaped tear to my face!  For those who haven’t seen it and read this blog, please go and watch it.  Don’t have any misgivings due to the director – just pretend it isn't one of his movies.  It deserves a chance and if you are a fan of science fiction, you really should give it a viewing.

RIP Iain M Banks

On Sunday the news science fiction fans had known would come, but were all hoping would be delayed, happened.  Iain M Banks sadly lost his battle with cancer.  Back in April he had announced he had inoperable gall cancer and much like his writing, he said with a dark humorous way that he had asked his partner “to do him the honor of being his widow”.

Now, I’m not going to claim to be his biggest fan; I’m not, having only really discovered him last year when I finally decided to give his ‘Culture’ books a go.  I was aware of him as a writer but I was a little scared to read him due to his big reputation for being very deep.  I am also a big Alastair Reynolds fan and in particular the way he blends real science theories into his narrative, which is usually a future history of mankind, whilst trying to keep within the confines of the universal laws of physics.  I was both wary but also fascinated by the concept of ‘The Culture’.  Wary, because I wasn't sure if I could enjoy science fiction based around a humanoid alien race that is out there in the galaxy without us knowing.  Fascinated by the idea of a Utopian society where nobody had to work and technology was extremely far advanced when compared to our own.  I was also drawn to the frankly, excellent covers - colorful images of far off worlds.   I know you should never judge a book by its cover, but they intrigued me further and I figured that I watch Star Trek, Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica and none of them exactly follow the laws of physics with their FTL drives.

I purchased his first SF novel and the opening culture novel ‘Consider Phlebras’ last year and read it within a couple of weeks.  At first I found the going hard as I got used to his style of writing, the dark but sometimes witty musings, and the weird names.  But after a while I started to settle into the narrative and got drawn in.  The huge planet size orbital that is destroyed, or the gruesome scenes concerning the cannibals on the beach have stuck in my mind ever since.  By the end I wanted more.  The flawed and tragic lead characters were brilliantly written and one thing I liked about the culture was that they were all separate stories, so I wasn't tied to a continuing story and could dip in and out of them as and when I wanted.

After a few months, I dipped back in and read his second ‘culture’ novel ‘Player of games’.  I found this a little easier to get immersed into.  It was a simpler narrative featuring, again, on the surface a very talented character, who showed basic human like flaws and imperfections as he tried to have his greatest victory.  Much like his previous book, Banks inserted some truly gruesome scenes and ideas – the games in the book don’t just have a winner and a loser, competitors ‘bet’ using body parts to add extra spice to proceedings.  This book also introduced the idea of The Culture interfering in other more basic societies/empires, a recurring theme in the books.

Finally last Christmas, having received all the books on the list from my mum and her partner, I read ‘Use of Weapons’ his 3^rd ‘Culture’ novel.  This introduced me to his infamous ‘multi-narrative’ style of writing.  Two narratives ran through the novel, alternating between chapters with one the main current story ark of the lead character, with the other narrative looking at his previous missions – but in reverse order.  Looking back I should have left this book until after I had gotten over a bout of sinusitis as the banging pain between my eyes made me struggle with the confusing narrative structure!  Ultimately I believe it was a good book, but I need to re-read it when I can give it my 100% concentration, then I think I will enjoy it more.

During this time I learnt a bit more about his non SF output under his own name of Iain Banks (adding the M for his SF work is a great touch).  A friend from work describes ‘The Bridge’ as his all time favourite book but hasn't tried his SF work.  Its on my list to read, but it would mean taking a break from reading SF, but there is so much I need and want to read!  But some of this SF does include more of his Culture novels.

My final thoughts though concern one part of his background I love, and one I have stolen from him for my own writing quest.  Long before he even had work published, he described himself as a writer, even to the point he put writer as his occupation when applying for a passport.  I love this optimism and use it on my Twitter profile (@morg007 for those wanting to follow me).  In some ways that is my tribute to him, because if I’m even as tenth as good a writer as he is, I will be a happy man.

RIP Iain M Banks

Star Trekking across the universe...

So I went to see "Into Darkness" at the weekend having waited 4 years to see the follow up to the excellent J J Abrams reboot of Star  Trek.  This was one of four movies in 2013 I simply can not wait to see.  The fantastic Tom Cruise staring "Oblivion" (very intelligent, slightly predictable but thought provoking science fiction) was the first one.  I have "Man Of steel" to come to try and help me forget the disappointing "Superman Returns" ( Christopher Nolan producing, "300" director Zack Snyder directing - what can go wrong?), although I'm from the generation where Christopher Reeves IS Superman, I really am excited about this as the trailer hints at a "Dark Knight" style gritty realistic super hero movie instead of the traditional cartoon like comic book action of previous super hero movies and "the dark knight" trilogy isn't just my favoutite comic book movie franchise, its in my humble opinion the greatest movie trilogy of all time (yes better than The Godfather and the original Star Wars trilogy's).  Then finally the movie adaption of one of my all time favorite novels "Enders Game" - I am fearful of a change in plot direction to a more Hollywood ending  from the first trailer, however the battle school scenes imply a possible real big new moment in film making.

Back to "Into Darkness";  I warn you, if you haven't seen it and you are planning to see it, read no more as this is spoiler city ahead and I won't even hide and hint at mere plot details, I will wave a big arrow at them for you.  These are simply thoughts and musings, not a review.

One last chance to turn away.

Final chance

Right, its your own fault now, don't say I didn't warn you.

Much like the first movie, this is a wonderful balancing act to keep the hardcore Star Trek fan happy and entice non Trek fans to see it.  There are plenty of nods to the classic series from a Tribble (yes a tribble, but only one mind you) to Sulu being poo-pooed as captain material (That is future Captain Sulu of the Excelsior in Star Trek VI) and Kirk bedding not one, but two human looking aliens sans tails.  Bones is still just a doctor, and damnit he will explain this using a metaphor to Kirk in a grumpy fashion. There are Klingons, baddass Klingons and a hint at a possible direction for the 3rd movie - "Klingon War"?

But all this pales to the awesomeness of Benedict Cumberbatch as John Harrison who in absolutely no surprise to anybody is revealed as the greatest Star Trek villian - Khan.  Due to the alternative universe method of the reboot he is discovered in a whole different way to the original series.  I'll ignore the fact that in the alternative universe Khan has suddenly turned from being an Indian Sikh to a British genetically engineering superhuman villain.  Because my favorite Sherlock is just so god damn intellectual, charming, persuasive and evil as Khan. He oozes psychotic intelligence as he gets the better of Star Fleet countless times.  Plus not dying at the end, means we can have more Khan action in a future movie and this can only be a good thing.

I also loved the role reversals from "Wrath of Khan" with Kirk sacrificing his life to save the Enterprise and Spooks screaming the immortal line "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNN"  The irony of a Tribble saving Kirks life won't be lost on any long term fan of the original series after Bill Shatners obvious annoyance to them in the episode they featured in.  A part of me actually wanted Kirk to stay dead, as that would have been a very brave decision by J J Abrams and really shifted the series to a new direction and level.

Of course whats next for Star Trek.  With J J Abrams off to direct the new Star Wars movie and cement himself as one of the very top film makers a JJ Abrams directed Star Trek would be at least 4 years away again (he usually directs a movie every 2 years) but with the 50th anniversary of Star Trek only 3 years away he may only produce it and put trust in another director.  We know that the Enterprise has just started its legendary 5 year mission so a plot would fall in this.  I have already mentioned a potential Klingon war which would make a logical sense that Spock would be proud of - the first one had Romulans, the second has Khan, so that leaves The klingons as the other big villains in the original series.

Either way as a star Trek fan, I am hopeful the reboot series will continue in a great way.

In the beginning...

It would be easy to bore people with the usual first blog introductions.  But it would be more fun and exciting to introduce myself over the coming days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, millennium and aeons.  So I will keep it brief, just give the very basic stuff and let other facets of my personality filter out in coming blogs.

I'm John, married, future father to be with baby Morg due to hit the world at the end of October. The rumors are indeed true, I am an Ironman, having completed the Ironman Triathlon in Wales last year.  All you need to know is, it was immensely tough, both physically and mentally.  I am a writer - nothing published but the great Iain Banks called himself as a writer before being published, and if it works for him, it can work for me.  That should be enough for now... just a hint of little old me.

Predominately I am looking at this blog as a tool to practice my writing.  It will probably be very poor early on, but time is a great healer (cliche alert!) and I can only get better.  I am working my way through the "writers bureau" writing course and one of the first things they suggest is a blog.  So here goes.  Now with the introductions over, lets begin.

With a geeky love of science fiction, I am working towards that genre as a writer with a short story in the works and plans for a set of books in a future universe - think Alistair Reynolds "Revelation Space" series.  But as the title of this blog asks, do I follow the faster than light route or stick to the strict laws of physics?  Both have their pro's and cons but for me it is the first decision any science fiction writer must decide on as it shapes their story and how it is told.  One idea may work with no FTL, but it may be awkward and impossible with no FTL to move characters and situations around.  Imagine "Battlestar Galactica" with no FTL - the 12 colonies would still be making their way from the original star system with the Cylons chasing them in a seemingly long and slow cosmic game cat and mouse.  But on the flip-side, would Joe Halderman's classic "The Forever War" have had the same affect if he had used FTL to get the UNEF to the various combat zones, to then return in the same amount of time they were away as they experienced, losing the relativistic effects that they experienced in the book?  The problem I have is being a stickler for accuracy means I tend to lean towards having no FTL, however, that doesn't mean I can't use the various theories on possible FTL (Alvubierre drive, Travesable wormhole etc) as a kind of poetic license.

Whatever route I go down in my science fiction writing endeavors  I am looking forward to getting the ideas littering my mind and in my dreams on to paper.  At least it will save on headache tablets!