Doctor Who Review "The Girl Who Died"

It's episode 5 already and I have to say it's the one I've been waiting for ever since the teaser trailer, well, teased!

HERE BE SPOILERS

We meet the Doctor and Clara at the climax of another adventure, she's floating around in space, her brain about to be sucked out by something. The Doctor is pushing a lot of buttons and pulling some levers, and lo and behold, the day is saved. Only for the two to emerge from the Tardis and be captured by historically inaccurate Vikings.

As they enter the Viking village the Doctor recognises Ashildir, the amazing Maisie Williams, he knows that they haven't met before, but something feels familiar... Suddenly, a vision of Odin, cough cough, appears in they sky, and a group of armoured aliens appear to take the strongest of the village to "Valhalla", not only do they seize the warrior men, but Clara and Ashildir as well. One thing leads to another, Clara, in a way that echoes the reckless Eleventh Doctor, attempts to convince the Mire to leave, only to be interrupted by Ashildir, who declares war on the deadliest army in the galaxy in a fit of rage. 

The Doctor doesn't even have a whiff of a plan, he has one day-ish, to turn a bunch of farmers and fisherman into an army. The training sequences are funny, until they're not. The fumbling fools are played for laughs, of course, right up until the reality of the situation sets in. There are moments that could have easily been mockable, The Doctor's ability to speak baby, for example. However, this is played in a different light, and instead we are given something so raw and gut-wrenching, that I tip my hat to the writer, Jamie Mathieson, and to Capaldi's performance. 

Only in the dark of night, pacing and pondering, does the Doctor finally come up with a plan, a plan requiring a blacksmith, a story teller and something "rubbish." The plan succeeds, but at the cost of Ashildir's life. The Timelord decides to reprogram a Mire medical chip and use that to "repair" Ashildir, a consequence of which is, that it will continue to repair her, and she may be functionally immortal. At this point we are left with an unconventional cliffhanger, knowing only that they shall cross paths again, very soon....

Fan Theory

I'm not going to lie, I was disappointed that Maisie didn't turn out to be Susan, I really really want Susan to return, come on Moffat! It may be too soon to tell, but maybe, just maybe, Ashildir is in fact, the Minister for War!

Answer Me These Questions Three

1. What will the Doctor do now that his Sonic sunglasses are broken?
2. Who else have the Mire been harvesting?
3. When will Susan return, WHEN?

Final Thoughts

Mathieson managed to layer each of the secondary characters in this episode. Nearly every villager, has a spectrum of emotions, usually these types of characters as of late, are just given an emotion and they run with it, grumpy smurf is grumpy, idiot smurf is an idiot, etc, etc. Here though, each character has such depth, that you will them to survive. Clara, always self assure and headstrong, is even more so in this episode, but I can't help but feel the wedge growing between the Doctor and his companion, as she increasingly adopts more of his ways. Capaldi though, he has moved on from playing the Doctor, to being the Doctor in this episode, he plays the comic moments perfectly, and then subtly breaks your heart. This has been my favourite episode of the series so far and I am extremely excited for the next one! 

Katie Charlwood

Doctor Who Review "Before the Flood"

So we're at episode 4 of the series... Was that anti-climatic for everyone, or was it just me...?

HERE BE SPOILERS

We are greeted with a very different type of opening this week, with the doctor, seemingly alone in the Tardis, looking directly into the camera and telling us, the viewers, of a quaint tale of Beethoven, a time traveller, and the Bootstrap paradox. Which he bluntly tells us to google. This in itself, gives us the gist of what's going to happen next...

The Doctor, O'Donnell and Bennett arrive in the Military Town, in 1980, and we discover that the town had a rather Soviet feel before it became the aquarium decoration at the bottom of a lake. The sexy black spaceship from the previous episode, well, turns out that was a hearse, carrying the 'corpse' of the Fisher King, a creepy bony mantis-type alien who deserved far more screen time if you ask me. It was also piloted by Prentis, the most irritating of aliens ever to grace the screen, and I am including Jar Jar in this. Granted this Tivolian's purpose is to be so unbelievably grating that we are applauding when he finally meets his end.

So Clara, along with Lunn and Cass, await the Doctor's rescue, while dealing with the elephant outside the room, which is of course the ghost Doctor. The scenes in the Drum gave Clara some breathing room as a character, showing her in a take charge role, instead of jumping through the Timelord's hoops constantly. Miss Oswald solves the very simple mystery of why Lunn is the only one not being attacked by the beacon ghosts, which she decides is a perfectly good reason to test her theory (mirroring the Doctor, in more ways than one) by throwing him into harm's way. When Cass calls her on her actions, it reminded me of the moment Donna met Martha and Mickey, when she asks/accuses the Doctor, does he turn all of his companions into soldiers?

Back in 1980 there's a time loop, and then a time loop within that time loop, but you know, never mind because of wibbly wobbly timey wimey supercalifradgilisticexpiallidocious... Anyway, O'Donnell, a character who I very much would have loved to see more of, because I love the fangirls. I loved Osgood, I loved O'Donnell, and they were both stolen from me. Yes, me personally, I feel betrayed. That being said, it gives Bennett, the opportunity to be the human aspect of the situation and call the Doctor out on his actions. 

Bennett gets sent back to the future to give romantic advice because, of course any man and woman who are in close proximity must end up in a relationship in Steven I don't know the meaning of the word platonic Moffat's world.  Naturally, the Doctor monologues the Fisher King to death, almost, causing the destruction of the dam and sealing himself in the stasis pod only to pop out at the opportune moment. A point that was glaringly obvious from about ten minutes in.

Unsurprisingly, the Doctor saves the day, somebody proclaims their love as everyone else looks at their shoes and tries to avoid the PDA in front of them. Oh and Clara, well, Clara just sort of continues. 

Fan Theory

The overt theme of war has been woven into the very fabric of the series so far. The Doctor meets little baby Davros during the war, the Daleks are warmongering cyborgs, the military are based in the Drum, and finally, a Scottish town dressed up like a soviet ghost town, during the Cold War. Me thinks there is a battle coming, a big one. We know Jenna Coleman is leaving, so Clara is on her way out, but with the way she's going at the moment I can see that way out in a box. That's right, death, actual death, not a fake death, not another, oh look paradox, she's fine now death, a straight laced, gut wrenching, no coming back from it death. Or you know, she becomes the minister for war and the Doctor has to *cough* remove her....

Answer Me These Questions Three

1. Who is this Minister for War, and is he/she/they important or just another off the cuff remark, created to make the internet whisper?
2. What did you think of the guitar fuelled theme?
3. O'Donnell could have easily known his companions, but how did she get them in the right order?

Final Thoughts

As much as I loved the attempt at making an episode (or two) in the same vein as classic Who, it just didn't quite hit the mark. As much as I love smacking my head against a wall can we please stop using paradoxes as a get out of jail free card whenever we feel like it. The best scene was hands down, between Cass and the axe wielding ghost, ooft, talk about tension and setting the scene! The sonic glasses are okay I suppose, but please, bring back the screwdriver.

 Katie Charlwood

8 of Best Geeky Girl PJ's!

I love pyjamas, I do, I really do. In fact, I have always loved pyjamas, they are the epitome of comfort, nothing in this world feels as lovely as a new pair of pyjamas. Even as a child, after enduring 8 hours in starched collars and polycotton pinafores at school, to running about in "durable" play clothes, all I wanted to do was have my mermaid Matey bubble bath, complete with bubble beard, and climb into my pink and white striped flannel pjs. I looked like Bagpuss, it was adorable. I would have happily spent all day in my pyjamas, I still would. Thankfully, in recent years it has become more socially acceptable to loll about in pjs with the concept of loungewear, which, let's face it, is a word we made up to make us feel better about not wearing real people clothes for three days.

I can't deny it though, nothing hits me right in the nostalgia quite like a Disney nightdress! The Snow White nightshirt from Topshop is simply beautiful. The framed silhouettes, almost retelling the story, the birds flying towards Snow White, the bitten apple, and let's not forget the dwarves! I love it so much, I really do. The retro/worn style of New Look's Little Mermaid nightshirt reminds me so much of 6 year old me singing Part of Your World in the bathtub. Mucho love for these designs!

    Snow White Nightdress +Topshop                  The Little Mermaid Nightdress +New Look 

I love me some Harry Potter, I love it more that Hagrid loves horrifically dangerous creatures. When one can't read Harry Potter, one should wear Harry Potter. These are awesome,  not only are these Hogwarts pyjamas, but each one is specific to your house quidditch colours! So far these are my favourite HP pj sets on all of etsy!

Quidditch Loungewear by AlisonWunderlandAcc on Etsy

As much as I enjoy Minnie Mouse, nothing beats the original lovable rodent. Time for some retro Mickey, or is it Vintage, wait... is Mickey Mouse an Antique? Anyway, I digress, these beauties are from H&M. I wasn't too keen on the bottoms that were part of the set in the first picture, but I did find the Mickey print, fleecy bottoms that were so much cooler anyway! You know, I would actually wear that top, in real life, as outside clothes. Oh but do you know what I need to see? Some Steamboat Willie, or Sorcerer's Apprentice pjs kicking about!

Mickey Mouse Loungewear & Mickey Print Bottoms by +H&M 

Now, I don't want to sound biased, but, I think Penneys might have the best nerdy/nostalgic pyjama section. Oh, in case you didn't know Penneys in Ireland=Primark in the UK. It took me an unusually long amount to time to whittle down my favourite sleepy-time  selection. I love the Cookie Monster fluffys, they are so fuzzy and cosy, and they really make it feel more authentic when I stomp through the kitchen yelling "COOKIEEEEEEEEEES!!" Just look at the Little Miss loungewear, I mean really, there's even a Little Miss conga line down the leg, now that's dedication! I can't lie, I literally made a high pitched squealing noise when I clapped my eyes on the Care Bear pyjamas! The Care Bears were my childhood, and HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THAT FLUFFY ADORABLE FACE YOU MONSTERS!?!? 

Cookie Monster, Little Miss & Care Bear Pyjama Sets +Primark 

I need all of the money, so that I can acquire these pyjamas, every, last one. The only way that pjs could get any better, is if they start making Xena nightwear. You know it's true, you do, deep down in the very pit of your soul! Although, I do have to say, that I'm extremely happy that companies have discovered that women also enjoy geeky nightwear, and that I am no longer required to purchase all of my bedclothes from the men's section! 

I used to have nightwear emblazoned with Animal from the Muppets, it was my favourite pair of pyjamas, which I inevitably destroyed while chasing a kitten that I found under a sink. (Long story) Oh and I'm pretty sure that I lived in a My Little Pony nightdress until  it crawled off of my body and died in the corner, when I was eight. Ha, and my big brother had to be wrestled out of his Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles pjs every morning. Did you have a favourite pair of pyjamas growing up? Do you have a favourite pair now? I have a Batman onesie, and I must say it's pretty awesome.

Katie

Game of Thrones - The Gift Review

Game of Thrones - The Gift Review

Hi geeks and nerds.

Today lets take a moment to review last nights Game of Thrones. First off lets start with Winterfell.

Poor Sansa she just cannot get a break. This little weasel of a husband is just bringing her to the lowest she has ever been and at this point is really hard to see just how she is going to get out of this situation without killing the fecker. Theon seemed like he was heading to put the candle in the window and it did look like that is where is was going but maybe he did and just found weasel (yes i will not use his real name) there. I mean even Joffrey was better than this guy. God I hate him so much. Well hopefully she does kill him or Theon does. Man wouldn't it be wonderful to see that. Theon ripping his head off.

Next there's Kings Landing

My god the girls just are not having a good time of late. Margery is in prison and not at all looking her hot self and now she is joined by her mother in law. Seems like Cersei never counted on the High Sparrow to actually turn his back on her but of course he did. Serves her right though. She has done nothing but scheme this whole time and now its finally going to kick her is that nice ass of hers. Meanwhile Tomin is missing Margery as are all hot blooded males right now and Littlefinger is up to his usual 2 timing ways playing one woman off another with the Tyrells along for the ride.

At the Wall

I am completely gutted that Mayster Eamon is dead. i loved that dude. I wanted that dude as my grand dad. He was a bad ass blind man and  he will be missed. Gilly nearly got raped which would have been a bit much after last weeks episode  but thankfully her Sam was there to make sure she was ok and then Ghost came along at the right time to make sure Sam was OK. Gotta love a Dire Wolf. Finally Sam and Gilly kissed and then Oh My. Its weird to watch them 2 have sex as you feel like it would be like watching your younger brother have sex for the first time. But well done Sam for not blowing it or blowing it early sir. Meanwhile Jon has gone off to find more people to help fight. That was it for Jon this week. I am sad about leaving and now I have left. Oh and hot red woman wants Stanis to kill his little girl. Now that's fucked up and he better not do it. I like her. She's fun. Kill her Stanis and that's the end of you and me.

Lastly across the sea.

For a moment there in Dorne I thought we were in for an upset. Imagine that singing mystro Jerome (AKA Bronn) was going to die. I would have bloody smashed my TV. I love that character and to be killed by pioson. I would have flipped out but looks like he has an admirer for his singing talents and maybe more in Tyene Sand. But what great breasts that woman has. Hats off to you lady. Meanwhile Jamie doesn't know his own daughter but we aint here to talk about anyone else but Tyrion and Dany. What a moment when Jorah (without killing anyone) defeated all those slaves to win infront of his beloved. Then for Tyrion to walk out. Man this is going to be so interesting between those 2. I can already hear the smart ass comments from Tyrion and the oh really come on attitude back to full swing. 

My opinion

It was a slow one this week and being honest it could have ended with the Tyrion announcing himself scene but I am happy Cercei is getting what is coming to her. Overall I enjoyed it and its looking to be building to a massive snowy war at the end of the season. Hers just hoping the one person who doesn't survive is weasel. 

The Terrifying Truth of the Marriage Equality Referendum

Posters plaster both sides of the street as I trudge up the hill, thrusting my weight against the pram, trying to speed past these posters, which crush a part of me each and every time I see them. On one occasion, I actually burst into tears, luckily my infant was sound asleep, snoring away, and wasn't subjected to the discomfort of having to listen to my anguished sobs. My anxiety gets the better of me sometimes, that was one of those times.

Sometimes I wonder why we are even having a referendum at all, really, why?
Why does the nation have to vote on this?
Sorry. Why do some of the nation have to vote on this?
Sorry. Why is this even up for debate?
Sorry, not sorry.
Why can't we just update the laws and the constitution anyway?

I understand that there needs to be a national vote in order to change the constitution, but if the article in question violates individuals within the nation, or is prejudiced in nature, then shouldn't the article be updated automatically? You amend the constitution, you fix it.

The world is progressing, the country is progressing, but I'm afraid that too many people are not.

There are so many hate filled bigots out there, spewing bilious remarks, bellowing hateful comments, and generally being absolute d!*ks. Those are not the people that I'm afraid of. They are loud. I can count them. What I can't count are the silent NO voters, those who nod politely, who don't want to cause a scene, those who have been conditioned to believe that the queer folk deserve less rights and fewer opportunities than their hetero counterparts.

I can't count those.

I can't count the thousands of students, or those working abroad, who have tried to obtain postal voted and have been denied.  Young people, being persecuted because they given the choice of putting their education first, or a vote that will affect their basic rights.

Then there are all of those who cannot vote here. I can't vote, I wasn't born here, but I live here, my family is from here and in October of this year, I will have lived in this country for literally 20 years... But I can't vote.

I am terrified. I am. I am terrified that the No voters will outnumber the Yes voters, I'm worried that the count might somehow be rigged and I am so scared that we will never be able to whittle down these prejudices.

My son is nine months old. He is my only child, but I do want more children some day. There is every possibility that my baby boy, will be LGBT and that doesn't matter to me. There is nothing in this world or the next that I will ever love more than him, and so I am afraid. I am afraid that I will have to look him in the eye someday and tell him that we held a national vote, and the nation decided that he didn't deserve to love just like everyone else. That they didn't think it was worth it. I think about this and it breaks my heart.

All I can do is hope now, I hope the Yes vote is  the majority on the day, I hope that someday soon that we will be able to see past someone's sexuality, and I hope that love wins.

In Defence of Supergirl

I caught the trailer for the new Supergirl series, and I have to say, I'm actually looking forward to it. Naturally, many people have been spewing negative comments and reviews of this "fluffy" trailer so far.

I for one, do not need yet another gritty, dark reboot, I deeply appreciate a bright, hopeful Supergirl, saving the day because she wants to, because she feels like it, not because she has been forced into this position by whatever Big Bad looms over her existence. Granted, my first thoughts were, "oh she looks a bit like Felicity Smoak!" and "ha, it's a younger boss from the Devil wears Prada."

A lot of the negative comments are based on this upbeat Supergirl doing typically "girly" things. These are actual comments people have made on the trailer so far. Bare in mind, that the trailer is made from the first episode.
"Eugh, she's trying on clothes."
"She's going on a date!?!"
"What's with the lipstick?"
"This thing is a stillborn turd that will only appeal to 8-12 year old girls."

OH MY GOD, how dare she want to go out, on a date, who does she think she is? Make-up, on a girl,  shocking, simply shocking! I mean how dare she be a superhero and have inherently female qualities. Of course, there are plenty of female secondary characters in other shows, they get to help and/or love the hero. Male heroes get to go on dates, they can have love interests, they can discuss their appearance, or have troubles at work without anyone batting an eyelid. So it makes you wonder, why are these problems when a female is placed at the centre of this scenario? Why do people have a problem with Supergirl?

A lot of criticism relates to concept that young girls will enjoy this show, personally I think that's great. Michael's daughter is 7 years old, and I love the idea that maybe she will enjoy the show, maybe she'll ask questions about Supergirl, start reading comics, learning about other female characters, and who knows what else.

I just love that guys are complaining that this show is being marketed towards girls, as if 99% of all superhero media isn't aimed at them.

There isn't an issue when a female lead has typically masculine traits; strong, stoic, etc. Katniss kicks ass, and Arya Stark isn't someone you want to meet in a dark alley, and that's cool, but you don't have to be strong woman, by stripping away your socially suggested female traits. You can have flowers in your hair and kick all of the butts in Halo, you can wear lipstick and quote Judge Dredd, you don't have to be pigeon-holed, embrace all parts of your personality, be proud of you.

Remember, if you perceive Supergirl as anything less than excellent, isn't the real problem you?

Katie

Welcome to Boy Geeks Girl

Hi

Our names are Michael (The Boy) and Katie (The Girl). Together we are a normal couple in their late 20s and early 30s who are proud to call ourselves geeks. We have the same kind of interests but vastly different opinions and we thought it would be fun to share these interests and opinions with the world. I know a bit narcissistic.

How about we start off with a bit of background. First Michael.
Michael is a 34 year old man child. He loves Star Trek and Game of Thrones and believes in aliens. Not the kind that abduct people but just the general kind who like to fly around the place checking us out. His greatest geeky achievement is defeating the Lich King in World Of Warcraft on heroic 10 mins before an expansion dropped and he got nerfed. Awh good times.

Katie is a 27 year old geekartist. She also loves Game of Thrones but is more into her Star Wars than Star Trek and X Files. Yep she's a monster kinda girl. Katie does also believe in aliens but not the space ship flying kind. Her geekiest achievement is the reenactment of the light saber duel between Obi Wan and Darth Maul in the middle of a shopping center using baguettes.

Together they have a little boy named after the actor who played Spock in Star Trek and Star Trek into Darkness and the best of the X Men, the one and only Wolverine himself. Zachary Logan.

With these posts we hope to share our geeky parenting journey and also our opinions on various topics from gaming to TV and movies.

We hope you enjoy.