My sidebar isn't totally accurate as I've been listening to a Doctor Who audio drama called "The Nowhere Place" recently. The audio dramas came up on Sunday at brunch and I wanted to rave about this story because it is just freakin' spooky!
I'm just a bit more than halfway through. The first half takes place in 2197. The fighter-carrier Valiant is out on the perimeter of our solar system and on guard against intrusions by alien raiders. Meanwhile, The Doctor (6th) is taking Evelyn back to 20th century Earth for a visit when he is overcome by a disturbing feeling that something is going terribly wrong. He then hears a bell. Back on the Valiant, members of the crew begin hearing the bell which instills terror into them. Then they are mysteriously and perpetually drawn to a door in one of the cargo holds. The funny thing about the door, besides being positioned to lead directly into space, is that there is only a void behind it. Just a nowhere. Oh, and the TARDIS calculated it to be a bit more than 50,000,000,000 years old.
The story is positively creepy. One thing that really works to its advantage is that there is no appearance by a known baddie. For instance, if you know that a story features the Cybermen, then, no matter how good it is, you always know that one of them is going to step out of the shadows at some point. And you know what the Cybermen do and what their motivation is. But here, I don't know what's going on or who's behind it all. To top things off, I find myself scared shitless by a door.
There's a pattern to the scariness. The Doctor and Evelyn are captured by the hard-ass captain who takes no shit. Not believing their story, she alternately threatens to kill or cryogenically freeze them. So I find myself distracted and fearing for the fate of the heroes even though I know they'll be fine. Then a warning klaxon starts meaning that the door is opening. A guard down by the cargo hold which contains the door then contacts the captain via an intercom. He frantically describes vain attempts to keep the zombified crewmen from walking through the door and into the void. There's static and panic and yelling and screaming and it just makes my heart race and scares the bejeezus outta me! So you have these low tension level lulls which are punctuated by these visceral scenes which just ratchet up the tension instantly. Great stuff!
I anxiously awaited the arrival of Torchwood all summer and now I find that we're 3 episodes into the season already. And I haven't even watched one yet! I've got them all but just haven't found the right time to watch. The Dulcinea and I keep meaning to sit ourselves down in front of the TV but it seems like we always have sex instead. Not a bad trade-off, I guess. And so I still have something to look forward to.
Another thing I'm looking forward to is tonight's LOST. There's just one more episode after tonight's before the show goes on hiatus until Februrary. Get ready because tonight is gonna be a shocker.
SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!!
Someone, as in a series regular is going to buy the farm. By looking at lists on the Internet of who it isn't and of write-ups for future shows, it seems like Jin is going to die. But it could be Rose, whom I would consider to be a regular cast member, although she is a minor one. I mean, she did get a flashback. Maybe her cancer has come out of remission.
While the death of a character will be shocking, I'm fired up for Locke's return to The Pearl Station. As we saw in last week's preview, Locke and some other Losties return to The Pearl and are watching one of the monitors when a figure's face comes into view. Upon that face is an eyepatch. Remember last season when Eko finds the box in The Arrow station which contains a Bible and a fake eye. Is Ol' One-Eye really Radzinsky? Is it a live feed or a tape? Probably a tape of The Swan. And tonight features flashbacks for Mr. Eko. Presumably we'll meet some of the figures that he saw in Smokey last season.
I've been to forums where some folks claim that LOST has jumped the shark and I disagree. Personally, I enjoy how new mysteries have arisen and how old ones are being explored once again. For instance, how is it that Desmond now has precognition? Must have been a result of the failsafe mechanism of the Swan Station. Or was it? As for old things, the polar bear returned and Smokey is supposed to as well. We've got a whole new group of characters to be explored. Plus I appreciate how the new season once again shifts the focus to a new locale. First there was the beach and the island generally; next came the Swan Station; and now we have the Hydra Station and the camp of The Others.
Shit! I just read that Ol' One Eye isn't Radzinsky. Ooh! And there's a funeral tonight too!
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