First it was Nicholas Courtney and now Lis Sladen. The Doctor's companions of my childhood are getting fewer and fewer. I had something of a crush on Sarah Jane as a kid and it was a hoot to see her return to the new series. In certain ways she was the proto-Rose or, perhaps, the proto-Ace. Yeah, she did her fair share of screaming for The Doctor's help but she wasn't completely helpless and showed initiative. A sad day.
In brighter news, the new series of DW starts this weekend. The Beeb have a new trailer out for the first episode which is entitled "The Impossible Astronaut":
Unlike the rest of my household, I like Matt Smith. Despite being so young, he has the gravitas to portray someone who is 30 times his age. Neil Gaiman wrote a story for this season which should be fun.
I've been watching The Crimson Petal and the White and it's very good. Richard E. Grant plays Doctor Curlew and, while it's not a big role, it has reminded me that I think he was a good Doctor in Scream of the Shalka, an animated DW adventure from 2003.
In fact, if the show ever returns to an older actor playing The Doctor, I'd love it if Grant were given the role. I liked how his Doctor mixed the Sixth's irascibility with the darker elements of the Seventh from his last season and the Cartmel Masterplan.
Lastly I want to admit that I've started collecting DW books. The Virgin New and Missing Adventures and the BBC Past Doctor and Eighth Doctor Adventures. I've discovered a podcast called The Doctor Who Book Club devoted to them which is a hoot. I could kick myself because I remember the dark days of the 1990s and the first half of the aughts when these books were being published and not buying them. Now playing catch up is looking to be a more expensive proposition.
Most of the books can be had cheaply. Half Price Books here in Madison had a bunch about 3 weeks ago and I am kicking myself all over again for not just getting a basket and putting all of them on my credit card. Instead I had to go and be all fiscally responsible. Still, I got several books at half price, though none of them were the really rare ones that sell for 5 or 10 times the cover price. Lungbarrow, the final NA, goes for $50-100+. It wasn't there or was but someone got it before I did. It dishes the dirt on The Doctor and closes out the Seventh's storyline so I can see a demand for it but it's way overpriced. Did Virgin print less copies of it than the other titles in the series or are resellers just gouging?
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