This Week in Geek (25-31/05/09)

Buys

I've really decided to "collect" the new Doctor Who action figures, and the quickest way to do that is getting large collector sets. Even when I have a hunch they're all missing their accessories in that packaging. Still, can't resist that TARDIS-shaped box!It's all Series 1 stuff: 9th Doctor (with odd, unarticulated legs), 10th Doctor just-regenerated, Captain Jack, a Slitheen, the Empty Child, the Moxx of Balhoon, the alien pig from Aliens of London, a Dalek with mutant inside, an Auton, and the Sycorax Leader. But wait, no Rose?!? So I grabbed that New Earth set:
Rose, the 10th Doctor and a Cassandra inaction figure in a New Earth diorama. And then there's...
The Empress of the Racnoss! A beautiful, incredibly articulated she-spider. I'm loving it.

"Accomplishments"

DVDs: One of the few Cohen Brothers' films I hadn't seen was Miller's Crossing. Flipped it. A lyrical film noir gangster film filled with the blackest humor the brothers have been responsible for, and the story of a master manipulator who saves himself, but loses his soul. Check that shot of Caspar by the fire and tell me this isn't a precursor to Barton Fink. A lovely surprise. The DVD's making of feature is basically a 20-minute interview with the cinematographer, but it's a lot better than it sounds. A few clips from the actors and a photo gallery complete the picture.


Books: I'm still reading through the New Series Doctor Who novels, and I have to admit I was sort of disappointed by Paul Magrs' Sick Building. I'd heard good things, and I've loved everything Magrs has done in the past. Really loved it. Letting go of his postmodern trappings didn't do him good. Sick Building is missing any sympathetic guest characters, doesn't get the Doctor's voice right, and makes us of talking robot appliances. So it may play well with its younger, target audience. It wasn't bad, just left me cold.




Not the case with Mark Michalowski's Wetworld which I really liked. I remember liking his Past Doctor Adventure Relative Dementia too and telling him so on Outpost Gallifrey. Wetworld has everything Sick Building doesn't. Charming guest characters, pitch-perfect renditions of both the Doctor and Martha, and a story that seems more adult (in style, not content) than the majority of the line. Its use of science is interesting and the monster pretty terrifying.

Computer stuff: Finally got the ol' blog on Google Analytics. More traffic than I expected. Hi gang! Even if you're only here via your She-Hulk porn-searches!

New Unauthorized Doctor Who CCG cards: Only 5, all from Battlefield. It's not a story I'm stripping for this set, but I did want to acknowledge the story in this battle-themed expansion.

Someone Else's Post of the Week
LivingDice has an interest post up: Do RPG Bloggers Focus Too Much on Dungeons and Dragons? I've answered already. What's your take?

Comments

Bill D. said…
The new Doctor Who figures are awesome. I only have a few - Tennant, Eccleston, and Dalek Sec - but most of them look really, really nice.

The new classic series figures are nice, too, and I'd love to get the various Doctors, but everyplace I see them wants to charge me $20 a pop. $25 for Tom Baker! Ridiculous
Siskoid said…
Yeah, they're pricy. I've had a chance to get some sets on sale. The big 10-pack was only 55$, for example. But yeah, they often range between 16 and 25$ a figure.

Importation?
LiamKav said…
Who would have imaged, even as recently as when this post originally went up, than within 2 years you'd be able to buy all 11 Doctors in one handy box (and with all the figures being different from other releases, so even if you owned one it wasn't too bad).

Truelly, we live in a glorious age.
Siskoid said…
It's a magical time.