Deep Space Nine: Season4

Season four is one of my favourites. Simply because this is the season that sees the return of Worf to our screens. Whilst not my favourite character amongst the Next gen crew (I didn't dislike him either) his character was just perfect for this series. Here you have a crew who are so different to each other and therefore adding in a Klingon seems only natural. Especially a Klingon so different from your usual Klingon's. I think Worfs character had a better chance to grow in DS9. There was more opportunity for him. He showed his sense of humour more (which I loved) and showed more of his difficulties in reconciling with his Klingon and Starfleet sides.

Thanks to Worf there are some fantastic episodes in there such as "The Way of The Warrior", "The Sword of Kahless" and "The Sons Of Mogh". At the last minute it was decided to bring the Klingon's into the mix and with Worf they really decided to go for it. I think that returning to a war between the Klingon's and the Federation could have been boring. It's been done before. However, with keeping the Cardassians and the Dominion involved it worked.

The whole series wasn't just about Worf and the Klingon's. There were a lot of other great episodes in there and some of my favourites include; "The Visitor", "Hippocratic Oath", "Starship Down", "Little Green Men", "Our Man Bashir", "Hard Time", "Shattered Mirror", "For The Cause" and "The Quickening".

Timewarden, I agree, those covers are fantastic. After Christmas I will certainly be purchasing the rest. I only buy the audio's that really catch my interest. Back when I first came across them I was tempted to start collecting them. However, I soon discovered that many of them weren't that great and it was better to stick to the ones that stood out for me. Basically anything with a returning Doctor Who baddie that I liked. In this case it was my interest in the companions themselves. I watched Shada when it was played on the BBC website. It was a few years ago and I enjoyed it at the time. I have heard of Freewheelers but didn't realise that Wendy Padbury was in it.

Lili, Douglas Coupland was my first choice initially. Then I read your answer to that question. You said that you wouldn't want to meet authors like that because you might be disappointed. The image you have of them through their writing might be very different from what they are actually like. Douglas Coupland is also an artist and a travel writer. He has such a wide range of interests that it would be interesting to talk to him. Going by interviews as well as his other pursuits I think he might fall into that line. Haruki Murakami on the other hand seems very straight forward. Having read his biography and his interviews I think what you see is what you get.

Judy, I would love to go and see The Golden Compass. I just need to find someone to drag along to it (it's not really they type of film my friends would want to see). So many people claim that all fantasy started with LOTR and that every fantasy book is influenced by it. I enjoyed the book and I loved the films but this really annoys me. There are so many fantasy books that have more to them than that and so many that cover a wide range. I find it difficult to believe that all can be traced back to LOTR.

I like your question. When I read about a book that I have very much enjoyed being turned into a film I usually have reservations about it at first. Especially if the book is quite detailed. In those cases a lot would have to be cut out and I wonder if they could really do it justice. The more the magazines talk about these films then it could go either way. With the case of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" and now "The Golden Compass" I began to look forward to it the more I read. "I, Robot" is a film that had the opposite effect. The more I read about it the more I became annoyed. The only thing the same was the title and a couple of the main characters names. I still went to see it and did actually enjoy it for what it was. I do think that they should not have been allowed to use that title and should have had the lines "Very loosely based on."

What About The Companions?

Some time ago now I had mentioned that Harry was one of my favourite companions. I think I may have mentioned that I would always have loved for Harry to come back or for there to be after stories featuring the character. Timewarden kindly directed me towards this book written by the actor who played Harry Sullivan. Here Harry has his own adventure without the Doctor. He has been given orders to help with biological weapons. However, he is caught up with people who are trying to steel it and while he has been given blame he doesn't know who to trust. Very much written as though Harry is a Jame Bond character (or wants to be anyway). A fun quick read so long as you don't take it too seriously.

Big Finish obviously saw with the return of Sara Jane that people were interested in the companions. They have released a series of audio books called the Companion Chronicles. Each features a companion who tells a further story of an adventure with the Doctor. In the first Maureen O'Brien returns as Vikki. She tells the story of the Doctor, herself and Steven coming across a phoenix egg in London. The phoenix egg is determined to be born but the cost would be the Earth. The second features Wendy Padbury as Zoe. She is telling a story of an adventure that she only remembers in her nightmares (in the classic series Zoe's memory of travelling with the Doctor were erased before she returned to her own time). In these dreams she comes across the Daleks who are trying to use the mind of herself and the Doctor to take over the universe. Starting with an assassination.

Both were fun stories to listen to and I would like to eventually listen to all the others that are available too. My favourite though was "Fear Of The Daleks". Simply because Zoe was one of my favourite companions and I have a soft spot for Daleks. They do deal with the after but only to a very limited extent. You hear more about Vikki's time after the Doctor than Zoe's as it was more relevant to the story.

The 4400

I have pretty much managed to avoid reading anything about this TV series. I even skipped those articles in my favourite sci fi mags. Too eager to get to the pages I am really interested in. I always meant to go back to them but then there is always something else to do or read. Not long ago I had heard that this series was actually quite good and that if you enjoyed heroes you might like this. What put me off a little was that it has also been described as the New X-Files. While I enjoyed the X-Files my main thought was that it had been done already. No need to watch something like that again. I then saw series 1 at such a low price it made me think twice about giving it a go.

I am so glad that I did. Over the past decade people have been disappearing and all of a sudden all 4400 of them come back. They arrive together in one place with no memory of where they have been and no indication that they have aged. Not knowing what to do with them Home Security put them in quarantine and then eventually let them back out to society. It is then that a few of the 4400 are showing signs of having a special gift. Each episode shows the continuing story of a few of the 4400 such as Lily and Richard who become a family, Homeland Security agent Tom's nephew and Mia a little girl who was one of the first to disappear. Each episode also centralises around one 4400 who is suddenly displaying a gift. These gifts are meant to be a way of working towards saving humanity.

If you ignore the fact that it has been said to be like Heroes, X-Files and even Lost then I think most people could enjoy this as a show in its own right. It could get boring and predictable with each show being about a 4400 who all of a sudden displays a gift. However, there is also a running story line through out with the regular cast that makes it something you have to keep watching. I was pleasantly surprised and I am now working my way through series 2.

Once I have finished watching series 2 of the 4400 I have something else to look forward to. "The Key To Time" box set arrived in the post today. This features all episodes with Mary Tamm who was the first actress to play companion Romana. I have yet to see these episodes since they aired before I was born and this is the first time they have been released on DVD. There are a total of 6 DVD's in there so I have a lot to look forward to.

Lili, I am so glad you loved the book. I have to admit that I liked "All Families Are Psychotic" for the same reason that you liked it. All the way through you feel for these characters and you think that there is no chance that it can be put right. Coupland surprises you that way. I have been trying to think of which of his books you might enjoy next. "Hey Nostradamus!" is a lovely book but so very sad. I think you might actually like "Microserfs". It's funny and a little more upbeat than the ones you have read so far.

DS9: Season 3

I seem to be flying through these box sets even though I have been taking breaks between them. This season is the first with the new ship Defiant. An experimental ship built for war. Actually the only reason that this ship appeared was because of Voyager. The extras tell you that the Voyager team were bragging about how good their ship was going to be and that DS9 would be second to their show. The DS9 crew insisted that they got their own ship and that it didn't matter if it was small but it had to be powerful. It worked though as there were some great episodes thanks to this ship and a lot of them were in season 3. Season 3 was about the threat of the dominion but it didn't take up the full series. There were still some character episodes such as "Facets" and "Distant Voices". As well as Bajoran and Cardassian based story lines.

I think that's maybe why I like DS9 a little more than all the others. It has a running story line from season 2 to the end (two if you count the emissary plot). It doesn't monopolise each season until you get to the end. So there are still episodes to develop the characters and to look at the relationships between all of these alien races. TNG didn't really have that. Voyager did have that but it wasn't as convoluted as DS9. Or at least it didn't seem that way to me. Their running theme from the start was to get home. Later it also involved the Borg. Maybe I am just biased as Voyager was never a favourite of mine anyway.

Some of my favourite episodes are in this series. I did enjoy "The Search" parts 1 and 2 at the start simply because we discover that Odo's race are the founders of the dominion but it's not at the top of my list of favourites. My favourites include "Civil Defence", "Past Tense", "Through The Looking Glass" and "Adversary".

Lili, your right that book does feel a little like Irving. Maybe that's why it is one of my favourites. Mind you I haven't read a book by Coupland that I haven't enjoyed. Going by the title it really wasn't what I expected. I thought there was going to be more humour in there. I wasn't disappointed though.

Crazee4books, the question was what would you choose to read on a day where everything is perfect and you are in a fantastic mood. You're right though books can change your mood. I love the type of books that gives you an energy boost or inspires you to get on with the various projects you've got going.

BSG: Season 3

The third season of Battlestar Galactica came out a few weeks ago and I have now watched all but the extras. The end of season 2 saw the last of the 13 colonies on New Caprica a year after they had settled there when the cylons once again attacked. This time Admiral Adama ordered both Battlestars to retreat as they had no way of beating the cylons and protecting the people scattered over New Carpica. This season starts a few months after that. The Battlestars are endlessly training their crew for a rescue mission while the people of New Caprica are having to cope with a Cylon occupancy. Colonel Tigh, Anders and the Chief are part of a large group of dissidents making life difficult for the new cylon regime. While Baltar is being held by the cylons and made to carry out their bidding. The first few episodes are based on the fight to free the people of New Caprica.



After that the Battlestar continues almost as normal. They are following a path to Earth while constantly on the look out for the Cylons. There is a divide amongst the people. There are those who remained on the Galactica and those who were left behind. Once that is sorted out another divide appears later. One that divides the officers and the manual workers. The most interesting part of this series are all the episodes which focus on the Cylons themselves. Thanks to Baltar being taken prisoner by the Cylons we see more of their ships and learn much more about them. It does mainly leave more questions which can only be a good thing as it leaves you wanting to learn more. Especially at the end of the season.

I did enjoy the first and second season more than this one. I think that might be a reason why the producers have decided to end it on the fourth season. When I first heard about this I was disappointed. Why would anyone want to end a perfectly good show? Now I can see why. End it before the fans get bored and are frustrated from not learning more about the cylons. For me the first and second season are the best because I feel that the season two cliffhanger is a difficult episode to beat. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the third season. There were a lot of great episodes in there which are definitely worth watching. Now though I will have to wait impatiently for season four to come out on DVD and try to avoid reading about what happens at the very end.

For all you book lovers out there I read a very interesting post on the way people organise books on Craft. The idea is to organise your books by colour. Seeing the picture on the Craft website it does look very pretty. An artist in San Francisco organised an independent bookshop in San Francisco this way. With a couple of helpers it only took him the one night. In a book store it would be total chaos as you would never find anything. Although I did hear about one bookseller who organised the area she looked after by colour and after she was told off about it she changed it to size order! It would be interesting to organise books at home like that. I don't have the space to organise all my books anymore. They are all packed into my bookcase in a way that will allow me to get as many in there as possible. I would maybe consider it once I did have the space though. Not sure how long it would last though.

Lili, I liked Menolly too but my favourite character was always Master Harper Robinton. I Just liked the idea of this old man who was so accepting of people, had a great sense of humour and fun but was pivotal in the events that took place. I think your daughter might be glad about changing your mind on naming her Menolly, lol. Thanks for the offer of the chart but I already have it somewhere. I had actually planned on stitching it at some point but it was one of those things that I would be lucky to get round to doing. Makes your gift of it all beautifully stitched all the more precious.

Timewarden, it surprised me you choosing "Crime and Punishment". Simply because I assumed that everyone would choose a light book for comfort. I guess though whole point though is not just comfort but to find a book you can really lose yourself in. Not sure what music I would chose though. To be honest I haven't been in that situation or much like it. If I am feeling a little bit down though I tend to listen to songs that are more upbeat. The Zutons first album is a good one for that (for me anyway).

Crazee4books, like you I never got past the first Wheel Of Time book by Robert Jordan. I found the first one to be repetitive and dull and so didn't bother with the second. Such a shame since I know of so many people who love them. I was more disappointed for myself than in the book. I didn't realise that the author very recently passed away. 58 is such a young age too. There will be many fans out there who will be upset. I don't think he even finished his series.

It's a shame about Madeline L'Engle too. I read "A Wrinkle In Time" for the first time not that long ago and very much enjoyed it. It's one of those books I wish I had read when I was younger. I hadn't heard of the author or this book until a few years back and I was reading about books that had been banned. That's what made me want to read this book in the first place. It always surprises me when I see how many children's books have been banned at some point.

You're right it is two great losses to the sci fi book world.

"Time-Flight" & "Arc Of Infinity"

"Time-Flight"

The Doctor decides to take Tegan and Nyssa to the Great Exhibition to help them take their minds of the death of fellow companion Adric. Instead they end up at Heathrow airport just after a Concord has disappeared from its flight plan. Just for a change the Doctor and his companions aren't blamed. Instead, thanks to UNIT, they are recruited to help. Going along the same path they end up in prehistoric Earth which someone is trying to hypnotise them into believing is still Heathrow. They come across the mysterious Kalid and the Doctor is determined to find out just who he is and what he wants with the TARDIS.

This story was heavily criticised by fans as amongst one of the poorer in the series. Whilst not exactly the best I didn't mind it either. Yes, the sets are poor and the effects are bad even for Doctor Who. I think that I have a soft spot for it though because it features the Master and I do think there was a lot of potential there in the story. I do feel though that it was a poor way to end the season. They did try to turn it into a cliffhanger by making everyone believe that Tegan had left the show. I think though it would have been far better to have ended it with "Earthshock" and the death of Adric.

"Arc Of Infinity"

The Doctor and Nyssa are making some long needed repairs to the TARDIS. Suddenly the Doctor is attacked by a force trying to take him over from another dimension and he is recalled back to his home world Gallifrey. Instead of trying to help him the Timelords believe that the Doctor is guilty of helping this creature and so he is arrested and sentenced to death. Meanwhile Tegan has arrived in Amsterdam and is searching for her cousin who has went missing. The creature who is responsible turns out to be the same one who is trying to use the Doctor. Inadvertently that same creature discovers Tegans link to the Doctor and decides to use it to get what he wants. Which is to move from a dimension of pure anti matter to live in our dimension despite the disastrous consequences if he were to fail.

This episode is famous for a few reasons. First it was televised during the year Dr Who would be celebrating its 20th anniversary. It saw the return of nemesis Omega who last featured in the 10th anniversary story "The Three Doctors". It was also filmed overseas which hadn't been done in Dr Who in four years. Lastly it also guest starred Colin Baker as Timelord Maxil who later became the 6th actor to play the Doctor. This one was never one of my favourites. I just never saw the attraction of watching the Doctor run about the streets of Amsterdam after a copy of himself. Since then I have grown to appreciate it. But then maybe that has more to do with the fact that I love the city of Amsterdam than the story itself. I especially enjoyed watching it this time round as I had just come back from Amsterdam. Funnily enough this was one of my sisters favourites when she watched the show. Very rarely did we share favourite episodes. I think "Robots of Death" may have been the only one.

DS9: Season 2

I have just finished watching the second season of DS9. This one is certainly different from the first. In the extras the people behind the scenes as well as the actors talk about how this is the season that DS9 finally comes into it's own. I can certainly see why they would think that. Ds9 was always going to be different from the others as it was the only series based on a stationary community. In the first season the episodes are a little all over the place. A few really stand out as a way of allowing the viewer to get to know the background of the Bajorans and the Cardassians and the relationship with each other and with the federeation. The rest were really character episodes. Nothing wrong with that but it would be a little boring if that was all DS9 turned out to be. In the second season though the Gamma Quadrant is brought more into the picture. We hear about a group called the Dominion early on although they don't really have a big part at that point. The hint is there and in hindsight we know that the majority of the show was soon based on the Dominion war. We also learn a lot more about Bajoran politics as well as Cardassian politics which again also has a larger role in the show later on. What we are really getting is small chunks of a story that later becomes very interesting and interconnected.

Another interesting thing that was mentioned during the extras was that the show was originally seen by the producers as a Western show. We already can guess this from season 1. Especially when we have Dr Bashir talking about his having any choice of placement in the fleet but he wanted to practice "frontier medicine". Really looking into it though you can see more hints of it as the extras mentioned with Quark as your barkeep and Odo as the Sheriff. While I think that there was some success at this obviously they still wanted it to look like a Star Trek show. The only sci fi series that I think has been successful at the whole Western theme is "Firefly".

Getting away from the extras I do have some favourite episodes. While season 1 was missing those double part episodes this one had them in abundance (almost as much as TNG season6). The first three episodes; The Homecoming, The Circle and The Siege, are all linked and are amongst my favourite. Here we see the return of Vedek Winn (brilliantly played by Louise Fletcher) in a bid to become Kai and getting rid of the Federation once and for all. Of course she is only behind the scenes of this plan and allows others to take more risks. A role she continues with throughout the DS9 series. Other favourites include, Armageddon Game, Whispers, Paradise, The Maquis 1&2 (used to help set up the background to Voyager), Crossover, Tribunal and of course The Jem'Hadar.

Star Trek TNG 7

I was going to leave this post until tomorrow as I have already posted today. I couldn't wait though. I wanted to get my thoughts down while they were still fresh in my mind.

Last night I finished the last of the TNG boxsets. I seem to have rushed through them this week but it wasn't like that at all. Each of the episodes on this series were so familiar to me that it was easy to just keep watching. It was funny though as there were a number of episodes and themes that I was convinced were in an earlier season. Episodes like "Phantasms", "Masks","Eye of the Beholder" and "Emergence" I definitely remember as being in the last series. At the time of first watching I saw these as some of the more bizarre story lines in NG which is probably why I remember it from this season. Episodes though such as "Inheritance", "Parallel's" and "Attached" I was convinced were in an earlier series. I don't know why it got all mixed in my head. As I was watching them I remember wondering what happened with the episode where DaiMon Bok returns for yet more revenge. I was convinced that I had missed an episode somewhere along the way until I came across it near the end. I even thought that the Deanna/Worf relationship had begun much earlier than it did. Funny how that happens.

Some of my favourite episodes have to be some of the stranger ones. I loved "Phantasms", "Masks" and "Genesis". Data plays a rather large role in each of these (as he does through out the majority of the series). Although it would have been nice to see more of the other characters Data has always been one of my favourite characters. I especially liked the idea of an android discussing his dreams with Freud. I also have a soft spot for "Lower Decks" even when I first watched it. I loved this story that was about the officers who were at the beginning of their career. The ones who are usually just background in each episode. It was also nice to see what happened to one of the four academy cadets who got into trouble along with Wesley for carrying out an illegal maneuver.

I do have a confession to make. I always hated the last episode. I remember watching "All Good Things..." the first time and I was so disappointed. I refused to watch it again. I hated everything about the episode. I thought it was dull and boring and a bad way to end the show. As I neared the end of watching this boxset I wasn't looking forward to it. I even thought about just leaving it out. In the end I couldn't do that and I'm glad that I did. The running theme as I have watched all these episodes again from the first series through to this is that I found that my opinion on many episodes had changed. Some that I wasn't to fond of the first time I learned to enjoy. Others I grew out of. Watching this last one was probably the most dramatic change. I was hooked from the first moment and I enjoyed every minute of it. I like seeing the crew in the past and the future. I loved the fact that the Q were back testing humanity as they had in the first episode and that Q had helped Picard get the answers he needed. It was a nice ending to the whole show.

A Good Day Yesterday

Yesterday BBC2 showed the first two episodes of the new hit US show "Heroes". I have already seen up to episode 9 but am more than happy to watch them all over again (and of course to catch the last few I missed). In the first two episodes the story feels like it has barely started. Instead we are being introduced to the story line and to the many characters. All the main characters share one thing in common. They all have a gift. Most of them are trying to deny that fact but two of them are actually overjoyed by it. First of all Peter Patrelli has been having dreams that he can fly. Dreams in which his brother will occasionally appear in. His brother busy trying to become elected tries to deny that this could be real.

The second character has to be my favourite of the show. Hiro is almost your typical geek. He tries to prove to his best friend that he has the ability to transport himself by manipulating time and space. You can't help but love his enthusiasm and excitement when he succeeds in transporting himself to New York (you might recognise the actor as he played Franklin in Scrubs). There is something likable in most characters and you find yourself looking forward to finding out more and more about each of them. So far we know that New York is going to blow up some time in the future. We know that there is a serial killer on the loose. One who had worked with Professor Suresh who was making progress in discovering that there are people out there who are special. We also know there is some kind of agency looking for Suresh's work and that the cheerleaders father is somehow connected to it.

This series just gets better with each episode and I find myself looking forward to next weeks installment. The good thing about this series is that it seems to appeal to both sci fi and non sci fi fans. The lack of technology, the fact that the characters seem like real people and that it is sent in present time probably helps. It was actually too very non sci fi fans who brought my attention to it.

Other than Heroes being on the screen I had a good day for other reasons. It was just a relaxing day off. I managed to do a little reading, some knitting and I even got out all my scrapbook materials and worked on a couple of pages. Something I haven't done in a long time.

Here is one page I did for my sister's scrapbook that I am pleased with. When I took the photo my sister didn't notice until I got the photo's back (I didn't use the digital camera for this one). She was concentrating so hard on sketching a sculpture. I used an orange-brown card for the background and then some ribbon down the sides. I then cut some flowers out of papers I got free with the magazine "Scrapbook Inspirations" (my magazine of choice at the moment) a while back. I then used orange diamante for the centre of the flowers.

The best part of yesterday was that while working on scrapbook pages my sister worked alongside me. Last year I managed to encourage her to have a go at cardmaking. She sat watching me and then asked if she could have a go. I let her just dive into my supplies to see what she came up with. My sister is a talented artist and it looks like she could be a talented crafter if she wanted to be. Her card was lovely although she didn't use it in the end. I thought that would be it. She is easily bored by these things after having one go at it. But no, we all got handmade cards at Christmas and she has since made cards for friends and family (including a card for my gran that I thought she had bought at the store until she showed me the supplies she bought). Yesterday she made a birthday card with her best friend and it turned out just as lovely as all her others. She doesn't mind experimenting on her own. Unlike me I find it difficult to break away from a style that works. And she always seems to hit it spot on. Yesterday she managed to make a card that looked both classy and fun. I'm not at all jealous of her talent!

Timewarden, how could I have forgotten to mention Relics? Actually I never like Relics then or now. I found it to be really dull. Not good enough for a guest appearance of James Doohan although he was good in it. I found Chain of Command a little upsetting the first time I watched it too. Those torture scenes were definitely a first for Star Trek. Like you I also preferred Descent to Times Arrow. I am a fan of the Borg too and it was good to see all the loose ends with Lor tied up.

Star Trek TNG 6

Yes, I have finally gotten round to watching the sixth season of Star Trek the Next Generation. Took me a while to get round to it. I've basically been watching it on and off over the last few months. I have seen the episodes in this season over and over again which is one of the reasons that it took me so long to get through it. The other reason is that Timewarden is right. This isn't the best one. There are some good episodes in there but what I did notice is that it seemed to be the season of double episodes. In most of the others the double episode is the last episode of one season and the first of the next. If you include the ones at the start and the end season six had a total of four. My favourite of them all is probably Chain of Command. Picard is captured by the Cardassians after a set up mission and we see the sadistic side of the Cardassians. A theme that has been hinted at in previous episode with the Cardassians and continues in DS9.

Schisms is another episode I very much enjoyed both now and when I first saw it. The Enterprise crew are being experimented on by unknown aliens (There was a very similar episode to that in Voyager). I thought this episode was well done and found it to be creepy at the time. Other episodes I enjoyed were Face of the enemy, Starship Mine, Frame Of Mind and Timescape. The rest just didn't come up to the standards of the past. That's not to say I didn't enjoy watching them again but there had been better episodes before that and better ones to come. True Q and Rascals were two of my favourites when I was younger but my taste has since changed.

I am looking forward to moving on to season 7. There are many episodes in there that I am sure I have forgotten. I am also itching to move on to DS9 which I also very much enjoyed watching the first time round.

Timewarden, Daradon seems to be a friend to the bad guys. Mind you that doesn't mean he should stand in front of the Dalek. He was too shy to approach any of the stars but maybe next time.

Star Trek TNG 5

I finally got back to working my way through the Star Trek TNG box sets. At the weekend there I finished season 5. Timewarden, I remember that you said that this was one of your favourite seasons and I can see why. There are so many good episodes in there. Some of my favourites include the double episodes with the return of Spock, Unification Part 1 and 2. This episode sees the return of Spock as he tries to help the Romulans and Vulcan reunite. Needless to say it doesn't go down very well and we also see the return of Tasha Yars Romulan daughter. My favourite parts of these episodes was the conversations between Spock and Data. Other favourite episodes include "Conundrum", "Power Play", "The First Duty" (probably the only Wesley story I truly enjoyed), "I, Borg" and of course "The Inner Light".

The episodes in this series are more familiar to me than the others so far. I used to watch these episodes more often than the others. Again I can see how my taste has changed since I first watched these episodes as a young teenager. Then I loved "Imaginary Friend" and "Hero Worship". Now I enjoyed "Darmok" which I didn't at the time. During the extras it was mentioned that this episode was used quite a lot in linguistic classes all over the US. "I, Borg" and "The Inner Light" have remained favourites. "I, Borg" humanises the Borg and you are left feeling pity for them. "The Inner Light" is just such a sweet and sad story. For those who don't know this one a probe was sent out by a planet centuries ago. The purpose of the probe is to go out there and find someone to remember them. It finds Picard and scans him. He then wakes up in this world and believes that he is living his life among the. He has children and becomes a member of the community. It's a lovely story and was one of my favourites when I first watched it as it is now.

It was also during this series that Gene Roddenberry passed away. During the extras there was a piece dedicated to him, where all the actors and writers got to talk about their memories of him. It was nice to here about this man and how he came up with the whole Star Trek concept.

Hi Lili, thanks for your comments on the cat coaster. I might stitch one or two for my mum. I don't know if I can find it in me to stitch them all. I had planned on using the charts to stitch birthday cards for both my mum and my sister. My sister has already picked her cat out (she likes to tell me what I will be making her). The back stitch in them was not too bad. I think because I was using linen rather than aida it made it so much easier. It actually didn't take long to do the back stitch. Maybe the first cat is hiding so that someone else will be punished for something she did. Or she is putting on her adorable face in the hopes that her masters will forget the vase she broke and realise how lovely she is.

I haven't read "The Testament Of Gideon Mack" but it is one of our bestsellers here at the moment. It is one of Richard and Judy's books of choice and so it is doing very well. Hope you are enjoying it. I just love the cover.

Evolution Of The Daleks

Before watching the second part of the Dalek episodes I watched the first one again. This time I paid a little more attention to it. I though the second part was a great conclusion to the first. I'm not sure if I mentioned before but I was disappointed with the fact that the Daleks were turning themselves half human. It seemed to go against all Dalek beliefs of being the superior race. Then in part two Dalek Sec became more human that Dalek. It just didn't feel right. The Daleks clearly felt the same way as the conspired against Sec. Daleks do have their comic value at times and I laughed out loud at seeing two Daleks in a tunnel talking about their doubt over their leader. It was the swivelling of the heads to make sure no one was there before they spoke that I found funny. It was a nice touch. I did enjoy this two part story although my favourite is still "The Empty Child".

Hope you enjoyed your holiday Lili. Great to have you back.

Monkey photo's

I'm back again for the weekend. I wasn't able to do any crafts while I was away. Didn't realise how tireing this would be. I spent very little time in my hotel room as I was working during the day and there was no supermarkets near by to get something that I could just eat in my room rather than go out for dinner. So when I did go back to my room I was really just sleeping. I did manage to take a photo of Mr Sparkles though. We went to the beach in an area called Tyne Mouth which is near Newcastle. We sat down in a cafe to have fish and chips and then walked along the beach.

When I got back and checked my email I saw that I had been sent some photo's of Captain Monkey on his travels. Here are some pics of him at the airport and then in Javea, Spain.

Crazee4books, I think you are right. He does look a little like homer. I think he might have a little Homer in his character too. I loved the DS9 episode with the tribbles too. We have that one on video somewhere and I have watched it again and again. My favourite episode with Vic was the episode where the casino was taken over by a bunch of gangsters and the crew all took parts to go in and save the day.

Timewarden, I liked all of the ones you mentioned too. Another favourite of mine (again I can't remember what it was called) was when the crew go to the front line to pass on supplies and help with repairs. The discover that the soldiers there are too few in number due to casualties and have been there far longer than they were supposed to be. The crew end up staying behind to lend a hand and Nog lost his leg. It was also the episode that guest starred Bill Mumy better known as Will Robinson in "Lost In Space" and Lennier in "Babylon 5". I think I remember an interview with Bill Mumy after the episode and he joked that he had always wanted to do an episode. He knew one of the producers who then suggested this role and said it was his chance to kill Will Robinson. I liked most episodes with some banter between Bashir and O'Brian and the episodes with Sloan.

More Sock Monkeys

While I was home for the weekend I had to catch up on the sock monkeys I had promised for people. I made the new owners name them and then make up a history for them.First of all here is Hamish McSporran. He was once a Captain of Pirate ship called "Ghost Monkey" based in Tortuga. Now he is a Fireman/ wannabe international playboy who is a bit of a tease. Hamish will be leaving for Italy soon.


Here are the twins. The first one is called Hector Montgomery, Monty to his friends. He escaped from the circus. The elephants are his only happy memory from that time otherwise he doesn't like to talk about it. His twin brother is a Ninja (which explains the band). His name is Norman Ninja.

My friends have very large imaginations.

I could be wrong but I am sure Voyager was shown on a Saturday not that long ago. Not sure how far it got to though. It would be nice if it was repeated again. The DS9 series is being released again in the less expensive box sets this month. It is the same as what they did with TNG. Still expensive at £30 per set but a lot better than £80. I loved the mirror universe stories too. My favourite is the first one with Bashir and Kira. They did get all bogged down with politics but I think DS9 was like that in general.

Mr Sparkles in Cornwall

I promised Lili I would post some pics of the travelling sock monkeys. Here is mine, Mr Sparkles. He is in Cornwall longing to play golf on the course behind him but of course he can't as I have to much work to do and they don't let monkeys drive golf buggies. This is actually my hotel room. The windows were glass doors which opened out onto the grounds. Very beautiful but we were in the middle of nowhere. Great if all you are interested in is golf but we would have liked the opportunity to see some of Newquay. Still the weather was gorgeous. Didn't feel much like coming back to freezing cold Glasgow.

Lat nights episode of Dr Who saw the return of the Daleks. This time the Daleks themselves got more air time. It does seem that when there are two parters the bad guy doesn't really make an appearance until near the end. This time it was at the start although you weren't sure what the Daleks were up to until the end. You could probably have guessed though. When Daleks are using humans for experiments you can be sure it isn't going to be for anything good. This time the Daleks are dying out. With only a few of them left they are desperate to survive and need humans for this. This idea itself isn't new as the Daleks have done this before. This time though the Daleks take on the human form (mostly) rather than the other way about. The human/pig slaves are a little too close to the pig the Slitheen used though. I felt that this was another example of going back on old ideas. Although in this case they were used to capture more humans rather than as a diversion. I have to be honest that I didn't pay quite as close attention to this one. I was working at the same time (hanging head in shame). I think it has been taped though so I will be able to watch it again before I watch the next part.

Timewarden, Wayoun, Kai Winn and Dukat were the only ones to die. Keiko left with O'Brien although there was some doubt as to if it was going to happen or not as O'Brien had yet to tell Bashir. Rom became Grand Negus as Zek decided to take early retirement and travel with Rom and Quarks mother. Lita left with Rom. Quark being distraught over the idea decided that his bar will be the last piece of true Ferengi culture. Nog was promoted. Apparently the last thing Sisco had done before he joined the prophets. Garak also left to help put Cardassia back together again.

Chakotay and Seven was a bit out there. There didn't seem to be much going on between them until one episode halfway through the last series. Seven had begun hollow programmes and a relationship with a simulation Chakotay. The real Chakotay (if I remember correctly) knew something of her feelings for him but said she had to take risks instead of hiding in a hollow programme. They were planning to get married at the end of the series. It was a bit out of the blue and I think there were a lot of fans who weren't too happy with the pairing.

WARNING! BAD LANGUAGE!

I got the most amazing swap parcel from my book swap partner. First of all she sent me a copy of Abarat by Clive Barker. She chose this because she new I had tried his horror and hadn't enjoyed it. She thought I might prefer his fantasy. The funny thing is that I have been eyeing this book up and almost bought it not that long ago. It will be going away with me tomorrow.

She also sent me a lovely book cover, bookmark, book journal (made from the cover of a book), neclace and bracelet. She really spoiled me.

Lili, I promise to post pics of the travelling sock monkeys and their stories. I will try to mail you a copy of the instructions I have on how to make them. Your right, David Tennant was the bad guy in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I think he showed the same energy in that as he does in Dr Who.

Timewarden, I liked Kes too. DS9 ended with the end of the Dominion war. No one really died at the end but a lot of them went their separate ways. Sisco joined the wormhole beings as he is meant to be one of them. He did say that he would be back though. Odo was the one who convinced the other shapeshifters to surrender and cured them at the same time. He left DS9 to rejoin his people and teach them solids aren't bad. O'Brian left for Earth to take up a teaching post at the acadamy. Worf left to become Federation ambassador to the Klingons (although we saw from the movies he actually just rejoined Enterprise). Kira had been on Cardassia to help the Cardassian win over their oppressors. In the end all Cardassians turned against the Dominion in the final battle. Kira then took over command of DS9. Bashir and Ezri got together. Kai Win and Dukat both died when they tried to free the pah wraiths and Sisco defeated them. That's about it.

Voyager is difficult as I have only saw those episodes once. I know Nelix left a few episodes before the end. He found a colony of his people unexpectedly, fell in love and decided to stay behind. I know there was a final battle with the borg. Voyager was successful (I can't remember how) and used the borg form of travel to get back home (I think). Everyone made it. Oh and Chakotay and Seven became a couple. I think Barcley was somehow involved in the ending too. I know that there were a number of episodes with him. It started with Barcley being the only one who believed that voyager was still out there. Sorry I couldn't be more clearer on that.

Shakespeare Code

Episode 2 sees the Doctor taking Martha on that one promised trip. They go back in time to meet William Shakespeare and view one of his plays. However his words are being used to help free the witches which will lead to the end of the world. If you were to read Timewardens review of this episode you will see that there are many similarities between this one and previous episodes. Mainly the "Unquiet Dead" where the Gelth are trying to free themselves from their world and take over the earth. That episode also featured a famous British writer, Charles Dickens.

Further similarities can be drawn from the two Companions, Rose and Martha. Both showed a very similar excitement for being in the past. Mind you who wouldn't and Martha seemed more concerned about the possibility of changing the future than Rose ever did. There is also the Doctor's reluctance to take on Martha as a permanent companion. The Doctor has shown this reluctance before but I don't remember him ever being cruel about it and it was never because he missed the previous companion. Telling Martha that Rose would know what to say just seemed out of character to me and a little too human.

Despite all this I still enjoyed it. I like the idea of real witches being the inspiration behind "Macbeth". I also liked a rather angry Queen Elizabeth showing up at the end and can only hope that this will lead to a future episode. This isn't exactly new either but I quite like the idea of the Doctor travelling around and upsetting monarchies of the past.

I have managed to finish another Star Trek TNG box set. I have to say that this has some of my favourite episodes in it. I love the Klingon story lines and this one has a large proportion of them. The main ones are "Minds Eye" and "Redemption" (part one). Both continue the story of the Klingon empire being close to war and the Romulans trying to make the most of it. It also sees the return of Denise Crosby this time playing the daughter of Tasha Yar. Watching the extras at the end it turns out that this was Crosby's idea. She wanted to come back and do a couple more episodes and she came up with the idea of playing her own daughter. The Klingon/Romulan plot was all ready being written and they added her in. Personally I think this addition just adds to the story.

The extras also state that the producers of the show wanted to make it more character based which does actually show. You can see that in episodes such as "Brothers", "Future Imperfect", "Final Mission", "The Loss" and "Data's Day" to name but a few. When I first watched the show these episodes were my favourite but that has since changed. I seem to now enjoy the more involved episodes such as the cliffhanger episode. A few more facts for you. This was also the first time that a continuing story had been tried in ST such as the Klingon/Romulan theme. "Family" is also the only ST episode which does not have a single shot of the bridge.

Crazee4books, I loved "Firefly". I wish they hadn't cancelled it either. It is one of those DVD box sets I have bought without having seen the show. After hearing so many people raving about it and then spotting it in a sale I went ahead and bought it. One of the best things I have bought. I have watched it a few times now and will probably watch it a number more. It never gets boring. I like the film "Serenity" too.

Thanks for the comments on the crafts. Glad the Dodos went down well. I hope my swap partner likes them as much as the both of you did. Lili, I plan on making yet another sock monkey. I am going travelling for work soon and my friends at work have said I should take one with me to photograph too. Glad you are still enjoying the book. It does get strange! I am reading a book just now which has been described in the papers as being similar to Coupland. I am reserving my judgement for now. Will review it when I have finished it.

Smith And Jones

I watched the very first episode in the new season of Dr Who last night. I couldn't get home from work fast enough to watch it and yes it was taped and waiting for me. It reminded me of the first episode in series one "Rose". The one thing that took me back to it was the Doctor taking Martha's hand and telling her to run. It definitely seemed to be as fast paced as that one and faster than "New Earth" which was the first episode of season two. I suppose it might seem like that as this one clearly tried to fit in as much as possible. It managed to fit in all of Martha's family giving us a picture of what her role there is. It also managed to fit in her work life and a glimpse of what her relationship with the Doctor could be like. All that on top of a working story. Seems a bit much but I think it did work.

This character seems to have a full life I'm not sure if she will get as much out of travelling with the Doctor as Rose seemed to. Rose had only her mother and an off and on boyfriend to go back to. Martha seems to have more of a life. Mind you going by her family I know I would jump at the chance to get away. I think any stories regarding her family could become irritating. Going by that one episode Martha seems to be more of an equal to the Doctor than Rose was which has a lot of potential. I just hope it lives up to it. Will be looking forward to next weeks episode which will involve William Shakespeare and witches.

When Martha first discovers that the hospital has landed on the moon she wants to know why they are still able to breathe. For that the Doctor allows her to help him. Is it sad that I had been wondering that before she mentioned it and then thought well if she gets to go I would so get to go? lol.

Timewarden, I liked "Yesterdays Enterprise" too. Denise Crosby was fantastic at coming back and making it seem as though her character had never been away. I also very much like Guinan's role. They continue to elude to the fact that Guinan and Picard know each other very well. I know this is a story line that takes part later on as another two parter. But I wonder if the writers had something like it in mind all along. Looking forward to seeing what you think of the new series of Dr Who.

Lili, most people know about my frog collecting (almost got a pet frog once). I think because of that it is not something I mention unless someone else brings it up. Surprised I haven't brought it up by now though. I have loved frogs since I was little. I loved the Muppet's and the Fraggles. For my 3rd birthday I was given a plastic Kermit who sits on a chest and underneath it says "Happy Birthday". That was my first thing. Since then it has grown. I only recently have begun to collect other things related to the Muppet's too.

I promise I won't delete the blog. I'll keep it there so that you can access it. I am so glad that you like "Girlfriend In A Coma". As I mentioned in my letter it is not my favourite book by him but it is the one most people seem to like the best. I love all of his books for the way he makes all of his characters seem so real. I think one of his greatest talents is taking a stereotype, placing it on a character and then making that character more than the stereotype. "Microserfs" is a great example. He takes a group of stereotypical nerds and then turns them into real people.

Swap Goodies Sent to Me

I received my swap goodies from my partner on the fairy tale swap. Knowing that I collected frogs she used the "Frog Prince" as a theme.

First of all she made me this bag. How amazing is this? She decorated one side with a heart and buttons (I love buttons) and on the other she painted this lovely image of the frog prince.

The plastic frogs have magnets attached to their feet so that they stick to the fridge.

I have just finished watching the third series of STNG. I am working my way through these fairly quickly. By this point the characters are well established and the actors are more comfortable with themselves and each other. The end of season 3 also sees the first use of a cliffhanger double episode. It sees the return of Gates McFadden and the return of the Borg. I am going to come out as being completely unoriginal and say that the Borg cliffhanger episode was my favourite. Watching it again reminded me of just how good it was. One of my favourite things about these DVDs is watching the actors and crew talking about their experiences. Extras is not something I normally enjoy but I loved this series when it was out and I am enjoying hearing everyones opinions on it from when it was being made. What I found interesting was that Michael Piller who wrote "The Best Of Both Worlds"wrote what he felt was an impossible situation to get out off. he had promised the producers of the show that he would write for them and run the writing team for a year and that was it. He had no intention of coming back and saw the second part as someone elses problem. However, he then reconsidered and his biggest problem was going to be to write a part two. It does seem that way as you watch it and I remember sitting open mouthed as I watched it the first time. This is also the first time that the Borg mentions assimilation

Gates McFadden being back was something I was glad about when I watched this the first time. I didn't like Diana Muldaur as her replacement. Now I can see what they were trying to do. They were trying to bring a character into the show who was more like McCoy from the original series. It just didn't work, at least not for me. McFadden had been asked to leave the show after her first year due to disagreements over the development of her character. She was asked back for the third season as her replacement was not that popular with fans. There were continued disagreements over her screen time especially in the movies. None of this was mentioned on the extras though.

Obviously what I am mainly excited about is the return of Dr Who to our screens tomorrow. Sadly I will be working so I will have to rely on it being taped. Watching it will be the first thing I do when I get home. I am looking forward to seeing new companion Martha Jones. It will be interesting to see how different she is from Rose and how the Doctor and herself work together. From what I have heard this characters is more independent and they tend to be my favourites but we'll see. Disappointingly there is going to be that romantic link between the two of them as there was between Rose and the Doctor although in a different way. I guess it will always be like that now.

Timewarden, I haven't watched any of the movies apart from the TV movie of IT and Needful Things. It was It that got me reading King in the first place. After that I found going back to It to be disappointing and never felt the need to watch any of the others. I do vaguely remember watching bits of The Tommyknockers too. So many people tell me that Carrie and the Shining are fantastic but they just never appealed to me. I liked The Dead Zone but Kings books do tend to waffle a bit and have been criticised for that. I have been tempted to watch the TV series based on the book but have yet to get round to it.

Lili, I am glad that you are enjoying the book reviews. My reading has slowed down a bit thanks to work so it will be a while before there are more I'm afraid. I haven't stopped reading, it's just finding the time to fit it in. I am glad that you liked all the Next books and that you are going to pass them on to your family now that they have been translated into French. I am very excited about the next instalment too. I have a couple of his books signed so I am hoping that he will be here in Glasgow to sign his next book and this time I might actually get to meet him. I hope you are enjoying "Girlfriend In A Coma". Coupland has a simple writing style so you should have no problems with his other books should you go on to read them. My only recommendation is to leave "Jpod" to last if you do decide to read the others. This is my favourite of all his books and it puts the rest of them to shame (as good as they are). I got everyone I work with to read this (although I made sure that they had read the others first). He has a new book out at the end of this year. So it will be interesting to see what it is like. In your letter you asked me about the reviews in my previous blog. I didn't delete them so I'm not sure why you can't access them. Maybe it's because the blog has been inactive for so long.

Sock Monkey and Big Finish

This is my first attempt at making a sock monkey. I got the instructions from "Super Crafty". I have been wanting to make one of these for a while now. I happened to mention it to a friend who insisted that I made her one (she also requested the skull and cross bones). It was a good incentive to get going. It took a few hours to put it all together. It's not exactly the neatest but I'm quite proud of it for my first go.

Once I finished the monkey I then made a start on this snowman Christmas decoration. The lovely Lili sent me the kit this week and I had to make a start on it. I tend to make Christmas tree decorations for other people but I have one or two of my own. Since Lili sent this kit to me I have decided to add it to my own little collection. I did forget to add the fringe to the edge of the scarf. I didn't realise it until I had cut out the snowman and by then it was too late.

After watching season one of STNG I went back to "The Tomorrow People". There were only a few episodes left so it didn't take me long to finish. The last few story lines weren't that great to be honest. They seemed to get stranger as time went on. The use of puppets at one point brought the whole tone of the show down. Overall though I still enjoyed it and liked the whole concept.

Since I enjoyed it so much and really didn't want to see the 1990's remake I decided to give the Big Finish audio stories a go. I had meant to order the first one but I accidentally ordered the fourth. Not that it makes much of a difference as the story lines aren't connected. In this one John, Paul and Elena discover a new TP breaking out. John and Paul go to Wales to investigate only to discover a dampening field which interferes with their abilities. Elena meanwhile discovers a ship above the same area are linked. Trouble comes when she goes to the ship to investigate. Clare Buckfield and Gareth Thomas star in this one. I did enjoy it. It was more like the first episodes of the series.