Category: Sci-Fi

So long, Sarah Jane

I’ve only recently, in the past few months, begun to get caught up on the original Doctor Who series, starting with Tom Baker’s run, and featuring Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith. From the episodes I’ve seen, including her recent return with David Tennant as the Doctor, I can understand now why the words “beloved” and “iconic” are used by fans when discussing Elisabeth as Sarah Jane. Bismo and I were talking about her just last night.

Elisabeth Sladen died today. The news that she’d had cancer for some time was a sad surprise and a tragic shock to everyone.

http://youtu.be/thjWMWzUa30

From one doctor to another

Matt Smith, perhaps the best Doctor Who yet, returns.

Forty seconds into the video I was taken by surprise, seeing Lily Cole, who was such a standout with another doctor, in Terry Gilliam’s dazzling, but frustrating and overly long, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. I’m sure those who keep closer watch on Who have known for ages that Cole would be appearing this season, but it’s news to me. Who boy, with Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, that puts two tall redheads on the show at the same time.

The career of Oscar-nominated actress Carey Mulligan was kicked into high gear by a single impressive appearance on Doctor Who. Carey had the featured role in one of the finest and most enjoyable TV shows I have ever seen, playing Sally Sparrow in the unforgettable episode called Blink.

Hey, you got Chuck in my Cake!

Well, that was a fun coincidence. My younger sister’s family was here today for our annual post-Christmas get-together to exchange presents. Pandora was playing on the Roku HD, and Eric had a present in his hand to give to my sister as a family gift — the first season of “Chuck” on DVD — when this song came on Pandora.

My sister’s family recognized it immediately as “Short Skirt, Long Jacket” by the band Cake, but we recognized it immediately as the “Chuck” theme from the opening credits of the show. Bismo, who introduced us to the series, had told us the tune came from somewhere else, but ya know, I never bothered to look it up, so it caught me by surprise. My sister’s family knew it only from Cake’s original version, and we knew it only from “Chuck”! One thing that isn’t in the theme is the obvious nod to “Sweet Jane” by Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground.

“Short Skirt, Long Jacket” isn’t heard in the series pilot. We all watched it tonight, and it was a big hit, as I knew it would be.