Move 2 in the New Game

Here we are, on the last day of 2021.  I'd like to play the next move in the Hipbone-style GBG that I started in the previous post.  Since I'm using these games to explore the bounds of what makes sense (and what doesn't), I'll make a weird choice and put down an idea in a spot that's not connected at all to the first idea.  We'll fill in many links, I promise.

Thus, in the fourth spot down from the top (if you follow one tradition's "lightning flash" zigzag path), I place Rory Williams, the Last Centurion.

For readers who don't watch Doctor Who, Rory was one of the best characters from the 2010-2012 Matt Smith (11th Doctor) era.  I've waxed on about this Doctor, but not much about his human companions.  Rory started out as someone who got left behind, when his fiancee Amy Pond began traveling with the Doctor.  Then he turned into a bit of a joke about dying (and being brought back) multiple times.  But his shining moment was in the Season 5 episodes "The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang," when he came back as an immortal (?) plastic (??) Roman centurion (?!?!) in the year 102 AD.  When Amy got trapped inside an impregnable cube called the Pandorica, which wouldn't open again until the year 2010, Rory realized that the only way to protect his one true love was to stand guard, and not waver, for the next two millennia.

The Doctor: Two thousand years, Rory. You won’t even sleep. You’ll be conscious every second. It would drive you mad.
Rory: Will she be safer if I stay? Look me in the eye and tell me she wouldn’t be safer.
The Doctor: Rory, you...
Rory: Answer me!
The Doctor: Yes. Obviously.
Rory: Then how could I leave her?
The Doctor: Why do you have to be so... human?
Rory: Because right now I’m not.

So, he waited.  And waited.  And became so much of a legend that museums had exhibits devoted to him.  I'll add another quote from one of those exhibits:

According to legend, wherever the Pandorica was taken, throughout its long history, the Centurion would be there guarding it. He appears as an iconic image in the artwork of many cultures. And there are several documented accounts of his appearances. And his warnings to the many who attempted to open the box before its time. His last recorded appearance was during the London Blitz in 1941. The warehouse where the Pandorica was stored was destroyed by incendiary bombs. But the box itself was found the next morning a safe distance from the blaze. There are eyewitness accounts from the night of the fire of a figure in Roman dress carrying the box from the flames.

My icon on the game board combines Rory's centurion helmet with the whirly circly pattern from the face of the giant cubical Pandorica.

I've always loved the trope of taking the goofiest of goofball characters and having them be the ones who choose to do the noblest, the most honorable, and the most difficult things for the sake of love.  Maybe we'll see more of this as the game progresses.  :-)

The clock is striking twelves

About two years ago, I did a series of posts about each of the incarnations of Doctor Who.  (I consider this kind of sequence of themed posts to have many of the hallmarks of a "Glass Bead Game," so I added the list of posts to the new Glass Bead Games tab at the top of the blog.)  In January 2014, the current Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, had only a few seconds of on-screen time, so I had to guess about what kinds of unique traits he'd bring to the character.

In the original set of posts, I followed another blogger's idea that each incarnation behaved very much like each zodiac sign in the sequence of the solar year.  Under that system, Capaldi was set to be a Cancer.  Riffing on stereotypical Cancerian traits, I predicted that

"...we may see an emotional, intuitive, changeable, exceedingly loving, and over-protective Doctor."

It's been two full seasons now, so we can assess.  The only word in my prediction that seems a bit off is "changeable," since he's been someone who definitely knows who he is.  But I think all of the other traits are eerily SPOT-ON.

More than any Doctor before him I think, these qualities were so strong, they were almost his undoing.  The "duty of care" he felt towards Clara, his companion since before he wore this particular face, burned as hot as the Big Bang.  The sacrifices he made for her, and for his estranged, time-travelling spouse River Song, were quite immense.

Was he sometimes gruff and manipulative?  Sure -- some of that may have rubbed off from Capaldi the actor -- and some may be a counter reaction to two earlier incarnations that were more "manic pixie dream boy" than the show had ever seen.  The contradiction we see, between the depths of compassion and those scary eyebrows, seems to be a consequence of the fact that (to quote excellent reviewer Charlie Jane Anders at io9), "time imposes costs on him, even more than everybody else."  The Doctor is now more than 2000 years old ("I'm old enough to be your messiah," he once said gleefully), and he clearly has made the decision to hold on to caring above all else.  Good for him.

Quotations:

Nothing's sad till it's over. Then everything is.

- - -

This is not a war! I fought in a bigger war than you will ever know. I did worse things than you could ever imagine, and when I close my eyes… I hear more screams than anyone could ever be able to count. And do you know what you do with all that pain? Shall I tell you where you put it? You hold it tight… till it burns your hand, and you say this: No one else will ever have to live like this. No one else will have to feel this pain. Not on my watch.

- - -

Davros: Compassion then.
The Doctor: Always.
Davros: It grows strong and fierce in you, like a cancer.
The Doctor: I hope so.
Davros: It will kill you in the end.
The Doctor: I wouldn’t die of anything else.

Come on Ace, we've got work to do.

Overdue

Holy crap, has it been more than a month since my last post?  If I searched, I could probably find myself saying "life has been crazy" about a dozen times over the life of this blog... but this hiatus has been living proof.

Hmm, where to pick up the golden thread?  In the last post, I teased about something Star Trek themed that I found at a New Jersey flea market.  They were 'zines!

I have a soft spot for these typewritten, photostatted, fan-produced gems. They were the forerunner to today's fan fiction forums, and they highlighted the true love that fans can muster for their favorite imagined worlds.  The two zines that I found were from the "movie era" -- specifically, the 2nd issue of More Missions, More Myths (1985) and the stand-alone story The Honorable Sacrifice (1981).  They're probably not in any way valuable or collectible... but this was the first time I've seen any Star Trek fanzine "out in the wild."  For $2.50 a pop, how could I go wrong?  :-)

I regret to say that I still haven't been able to start reading these stories, but I'll post if I have insights.  On first glance, I wasn't surprised to see Spock as the primary focus of most stories, but McCoy was much more a major player, throughout, than I thought he'd be.

- - - - -

Just about any "other news" I can think of to report seems to revolve around the Doctor...

• We're only a few episodes into Peter Capaldi's run as the 12th Doctor.  So far, I don't think my prediction for him to be all empathic, intuitive, and Cancerian is holding up too well, but we'll see how the season progresses.  Still, Cancers are supposed to have major sweet-tooths, and we saw this Doctor noshing on something creamy and delicious early in the latest episode.  Good thing he kept his utensil with him...

• I was surprised to see 10th Doctor David Tennant rambling about his love for the almost-forgotten 1980s band The Housemartins in this clip.  (It's labeled a "deleted scene," but it was actually in the episode... just playing silently in the background while he's riffing.)  But, to the point: the Housemartins rock!
• My son, just starting his second year of middle school, recently completed a Language Arts assignment to write a multi-paragraph story.  He brought home his writing, and I was proud as all get-out to see a developing story about how River Song hid a secret message in the Declaration of Independence, to lure the Doctor to come back to 1776 and fight off a Dalek invasion at Independence Hall.  He even had Amy Pond saying "Oi!"  :-)

Anyway, I hope to be able to post a bit more frequently as the fall goes on.  Allons-y!

The 12th Regeneration of Christmas

Now we're all about the future.  Just mere days ago, Peter Capaldi took the reins of the TARDIS to become the Twelfth Doctor.  WHO will he be?  We don't know, but being significantly older in appearance than the previous few incarnations, we might be in for some increased space-time gravitas...

In fact, he's exactly as old as the First Doctor was when he originated the part in 1963.  Given that current companion Clara Oswald (who witnessed the transformation from the Eleventh to the Twelfth) is now working at the school where the First Doctor's granddaughter attended, and other companions were teachers, we may see callbacks.

I'm not sure if there are any tea leaves to read in the one earlier episode of Doctor Who that Capaldi guest starred in.  He played a harried Roman pater familias in the doomed town of Pompeii.  I'm more interested in going back to a TV movie that I remember seeing in the dorm as a college freshman... since in it Capaldi portrayed my favorite Beatle, George Harrison!  :-)

According to the cycle we've been following, the Twelfth Doctor is set to be a Zodiacal CANCER.  The urge to compare and contrast with the First Doctor (LEO) is strong, since Leo is the sign of the Sun and Cancer is the sign of the Moon.  Thus, we may see an emotional, intuitive, changeable, exceedingly loving, and over-protective Doctor.

If the above is true, this Doctor is going to be an empath worthy of Deanna Troi.  Thus, he may need the final New Year's Resolution of our cycle, which is to elevate your mood.  Some people with great sensitivity can feel buffeted by the winds of others' emotional lives, so it's worth while to maintain a positive, proactive core.

That's it, folks!  I hope I've lived up to the lofty goals I set myself (here and here).  I've learned a lot about the baker's dozen of Doctors, and had fun pulling together these weird strands.  Now that I think of it, these posts may comprise a strange kind of Glass Bead Game with beads made of time, space, and the stars.

I hope you're all ready to face the new year with wibbly-wobbly energy and optimism!

The 11th Regeneration of Christmas

We're coming nearly to the end now.  The Eleventh Doctor was played by Matt Smith from 2010 to, well, December 25, 2013.  By far the youngest actor to play the Doctor, this incarnation was full of energy, eccentricities, and playfulness.  Smith continued the trend for "New Who" to focus on the (often harrowing) emotional journeys of the characters, and many of his stories feel more like fairy tales than sci-fi.

Apologies for the use of a staged press photo, but I think it captures his character pretty well.  I quoted the word "cheeky" in the last post about the Tenth Doctor, and I think the Eleventh doubled or tripled that particularly British quirk.  In the 50th anniversary special that aired in November, they hinted that these more recent incarnations have avoided grown-up seriousness because they associated that with the dark deeds they believed were enacted by the War Doctor.

For the first time in the history of the show, the human companions tended to be more mysterious than the Doctor himself, and many of the stories dealt with figuring out the puzzles of their existence.  Who was the rogue archaeologist River Song, and how was her fate intertwined with Amy and Rory, the first married couple to travel with the Doctor?  Why did cute-as-a-button Clara appear randomly throughout time before joining the Doctor in the 21st century?  They've answered many of these questions, but who knows what lies in store as we move forward....

Quotations:

"The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa the bad things don't always spoil the good things and make them unimportant."

"There are fixed points throughout time where things must stay exactly the way they are. This is not one of them. This is an opportunity! Whatever happens here will create its own timeline, its own reality, a temporal tipping point. The future revolves around you, here, now, so do good!"

The Eleventh Doctor's identification as "such a frikkin' GEMINI" was what spurred blogger Dawn Ellis to piece together the Zodiacal order that we've been following this fine holiday season.  :-)  It certainly seems to fit, since traits of the sign include "witty, nervous, youthful, lively, communicative, and inconsistent."  Ellis also referred to a Gemini's "ping-ping-ping demeanor" to refer to their tendency to bounce around randomly like in a pinball game.  Yup... I recently saw Matt Smith's Doctor referred to as a "Manic Pixie Dream Boy."  If you've seen examples of that trope in action for the other gender, you'll see how it fits.

So, you can guess what the New Year's Resolution is for the all-over-the-place Gemini, right?  Focus and commit.  Not always easy, but definitely worth it.  You've stored up all the horsepower you'll need; you just have to get all those horses to be pulling your chariot in the direction you want to go.

[See the introduction for more about sources and motivations for this series of posts.]

The 10th Regeneration of Christmas

The Tenth Doctor was portrayed by David Tennant from 2005 to 2010 -- the longest stint since Tom Baker's in the 1970s, I think.  My family and I recently finished watching all of his adventures, and I've got to rank him as my favorite Doctor so far.

Despite just having watched all of his episodes, it's a bit difficult of me to sum up the Tenth Doctor's personality in a few sentences.  It doesn't help that his physical characteristics and conceits are an amalgam of (or conscious homage to?) Doctors 1 through 8.  Tennant showed huge emotional range and depth.  I suppose that I agree with Wikipedia's assessment that "the Tenth Doctor generally displays a light-hearted, talkative, easy-going, witty, and cheeky manner, but nurses profound anger, regret, and vulnerability beneath his more glib exterior."  However, I also think the upbeat notes outnumber the downers.

Quotations:

"Mankind doesn't need warfare and bloodshed to prove itself. Everyday life can provide honour and valour. Let's hope that from now on this country can find its heroes in smaller places. In the most ordinary of deeds."

"Look at these people, these human beings. Consider their potential! From the day they arrive on the planet, blinking, step into the sun, there is more to see than can ever be seen, more to do than -- no, hold on. Sorry, that's The Lion King. But the point still stands. Leave them alone!"

The Tenth Doctor is supposedly a TAURUS.  However, this is the one case in which I don't see a good match.  Tauri are traditionally all about security, patience, persistence, and a love of material things.  Much more Bilbo Baggins than the Doctor, I'm afraid.  Although I could cherry-pick a few Taurus terms such as reliability and warm-heartedness, the whole picture just doesn't seem to fit this time.  In Dawn Ellis' original description of this Zodiacal/Doctor theory, she said simply that "David Tennant is the best kind of Taurus that ever lived."  I'll leave it to those more well-versed in astrological personality types to judge.

The New Year's Resolution for our stereotypical stability-loving Taurus is to keep moving and changing.  Having staying power is great, but sometimes that can lead to stagnancy or the frustration of being stuck in the mud.  Similarly to the sign characteristics, though, I'm not sure if it's a good fit here.  I don't think any incarnation of the Doctor has ever needed someone to tell him that he needs to keep moving and changing!

(Well... there was that one time that the Tenth Doctor needed to hide out from evil mind-readers, so he gave himself amnesia and became a, well, pretty typical Taurus human schoolteacher.  It took some serious prodding to get him to put that calm, settled life aside when it came time to remember who he was!  Okay, maybe there's something to the Taurus thing after all...)

[See the introduction for more about sources and motivations for this series of posts.]

The 9th Regeneration of Christmas

Doctor Who got a new start in the 21st century, and the Ninth Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston in 2005, ushered in "New Who" for a new generation.  I haven't yet seen any of his episodes, but that will change as soon as we're done with Space: Above and Beyond -- my family got the Eccleston DVDs for Christmas.

The Ninth Doctor was with us for only one season's worth of episodes, but he kicked off a renaissance for the franchise that's still going strong.  Writer and show-runner Russell Davies held the reigns for all of the Ninth and Tenth, and he transformed the show from a cliffhanger-based action adventure to a much more character-driven mix of tragedy and comedy.

Coming right from the devastation of the Time War, it's been said that Eccleston played this Doctor with a definite subtext of post-traumatic stress disorder.  He was definitely hard-edged and intense, and he dropped the borderline-foppish eccentricities of nearly all prior incarnations.  Still, he retained the quick wit, charm, and dynamism that's always been a hallmark of the Doctor.  He formed a rapid and deep bond with his primary human companion, Rose Tyler.  This series also introduced the first pansexual companion, the unkillable Captain Jack Harkness.

Quotation:

"Your wish is my command. But be careful what you wish for."

The Ninth Doctor is an ARIES.  The first sign in the Zodiac seems appropriate for this new start for the show.  Again, the characteristics seem to just line up as if this was all part of the plan: adventurous, courageous, assertive, and confident (on the plus side); impulsive, foolhardy, and hot-tempered (on the minus).  The leather jacket and northern accent probably make him look like he's about to bash some skulls for the glory of Manchester United or something, but his sense of personal honor and optimism round out his embodiment of this cardinal sign.

The New Year's Resolution for the dynamic Aries is to be patient.  According to my source for these resolutions, "You love to burn through things as fast as possible but the good things take time. Commit to cultivating more patience and interest with the slower parts of the process and you can totally change your life."

[See the introduction for more about sources and motivations for this series of posts.]

The 8th and a Half Regeneration of Christmas

Eighth and a half?  Well, after the Eighth Doctor, but prior to the Ninth, there was a brief incarnation played by esteemed actor John Hurt.  We only met Hurt's so-called "War Doctor" in November of this year, but his role in the life history of this thousand-year old time lord was pivotal.

The last part of the Eighth Doctor's era was tainted by the Time War, a huge conflagration involving his people, the Time Lords, and their eternal enemies, the Daleks.  That war created so much collateral damage across space and time that when the Doctor met new people, they recoiled in fear when learning what he was.  He came to believe that a doctor -- a helper and healer -- was no longer needed.  To end the war, he needed to become a warrior.

Quotation:

"Never give up.  Never give in."

(Of course, things aren't always what they seem.  Future incarnations were ashamed of the things they believed the War Doctor did, but it turns out... well, spoilers!)  :-)

Occurring outside the normal cycle of regenerations, the War Doctor doesn't have a Zodiac sign per se.  His place between Pisces and Aries does seem to fall naturally at the Vernal Equinox, a pivotal time that's been enshrined in Earthly cultures by renewal feasts such as Passover and Easter.

However, I kind of like to associate him with the constellation of OPHIUCHUS, whose stars intercept the classical Zodiac.  Some astrologers treat this as an honorary 13th astrological sign and give it the symbol of the snake-entwined Rod of Asclepius.  This is an international symbol for doctors and healers of all kinds, which is appropriate for the one incarnation of the Doctor who tried to cast off that mantle, but found that it was just too much a part of who he was.

[See the introduction for more about sources and motivations for this series of posts.]

The 8th Regeneration of Christmas

After the Seventh Doctor's final episode in 1989, the show was off the air for a while.  It would be 16 years before it came back as a regular series.  However, midway through that hiatus, in 1996, there was a TV movie that introduced us to the Eighth Doctor, played by Paul McGann.  He appeared on-screen for that one adventure, then did a bunch of audio dramas for BBC radio, and then appeared again earlier this year in a 10-minute web short that closed the book on his story.

I should probably try to watch the 1996 movie, but the snippets that make up this 3-minute super-cut don't exactly convey confidence that the producers really got the concept too well.  Still, the Eighth Doctor kept on chugging through the audio plays, novels, and comic books, and actually racked up far more adventures than any of his predecessors.

Quotation:

"I love humans. Always seeing patterns in things that aren't there."

The Eighth Doctor is a PISCES.  According to an authoritative source, this Doctor "...showed a romantic and sensitive side not displayed by previous Doctors."  That seems pretty on-target for a Pisces, whose traits include compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and dreaminess.  Even many of the negative traits listed for this sign don't seem so bad to me -- escapist, overly idealistic, secretive, and vague.  Those last two may be on target for the Eighth Doctor, but only inadvertently.  The writers of the TV movie slipped in some things that were a bit out of continuity for the Doctor -- psychic powers? a human mother? -- which, if we're being charitable, can be written off as the kind of playful misdirection that other incarnations sometimes employed.

So what does the overly galvanic Pisces need to work on as a New Year's Resolution?  The suggestion from my source is to create boundaries.  I'm not a Pisces, but I definitely need to learn more about how to say "no" to things that will otherwise pull me in too many different directions.

[See the introduction for more about sources and motivations for this series of posts.]

The 7th Regeneration of Christmas

The Seventh Doctor was played by Sylvester McCoy from 1987 to 1989.  Initially, they weren't quite sure what to do with his character, since in his first episodes he was a rather benign bumbler, similar to several earlier incarnations.  Gradually, though, either the writers or McCoy himself evolved a much more nuanced take on the Doctor -- a skilled tactician, master of psychology and manipulation, but still deeply caring, inquisitive, and humanitarian.

But yes, he did keep the question-mark themed clothing.  (Groan.)  I do remember watching a few of the Seventh Doctor's adventures on PBS in the early 1990s.  It was strange to see another actor besides Tom Baker playing the part, but McCoy pulled you in... it was fun to watch him do his thing, and it always seemed like he was keeping many more secrets than he let on.  I missed out on seeing fan-favorite companion Ace, an initially troubled teen who evolved into a skilled warrior.

Quotations:

"A stitch in time... takes up space."

"Anybody remotely interesting is mad in some way."

"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace. We've got work to do."

The Seventh Doctor is an AQUARIUS.  I'm not sure how good the fit is with this sign, since many of its characteristics -- inventiveness, intelligence, loyalty, and unpredictability -- can probably be applied to nearly every Doctor.  Was this incarnation also "detached, contrarian, and perverse," as is also sometimes said for Aquarii?  I'm not sure.  He did once try to teach Ace a lesson about her truant ways by taking her back 100 years to visit the heyday of a grand mansion that she burned down before she met him.  A bit perverse, if you ask me...  :-)

From the above, it seems that textbook Aquarians are supposed to be coldly objective, with a sarcastic edge.  Thus, their New Year's Resolution is to get mushy.  No ironic hipster detachment for you!  Letting in more emotion may be messy and difficult, but it leads to a richer and more honest life.

[See the introduction for more about sources and motivations for this series of posts.]

The 6th Regeneration of Christmas

The Sixth Doctor was played by Colin Baker (no relation to Tom) from 1984 to 1986.  Although I haven't seen any of his episodes, I get the feeling amongst Whovians that this is an incarnation that many fans want to forget.  The Sixth Doctor was full of contradictions and clashes.  Some may scoff at the levity of his multi-colored clown suit, but it may have signalled his internal chaos.  I probably shouldn't give him the pop psychiatry diagnosis of "manic-depressive," but it seems right from what I've learned: sometimes he was bombastic and witty; sometimes he was petulant and volatile.

A big chunk of the 1985 season was devoted to a long story arc called "The Trial of a Time Lord," in which the Doctor was put through some byzantine ordeals, later found out to be orchestrated by an enigmatic Time Lord known as the Valeyard... who himself may have been a far-future incarnation of the Doctor himself.  It turns out that the series itself was on trial at this time, since its ratings were slipping.

Quotation:

"Planets come and go. Stars perish. Matter disperses, coalesces, forms into other patterns, other worlds. Nothing can be eternal."

The Sixth Doctor is a CAPRICORN.  Some appropriate keywords that I found for this sign include authority, discipline, and ambition.  One possible negative trait is fatalism, which seems to apply, too -- especially to that quote above.  Nevertheless, Capricorns are also patient, practical, and good with humor.  (This is still the heroic Doctor we're talking about, here!)

This sign's New Year's Resolution is to release fear.  In some cases, it may be that all those personality swings, including the brash and sometimes abrasive extroversion, may spring from internal clashes that circle around fear.  Good Capricorns are said to be trustworthy and respected, but that can come at a cost.  The source that I got these resolutions from said that "So much gets bottled up that you tend to lose touch with your need for spontaneous expression. Remember these old, wise words: The only thing to fear is fear itself."

[See the introduction for more about sources and motivations for this series of posts.]

The 5th Regeneration of Christmas

The Fifth Doctor was portrayed by Peter Davison from 1981 to 1984.  After the longevity and popularity of the prior incarnation, the writers were going for a big contrast.  This Doctor was less brash, more vulnerable, and more comfortable with letting randomness pull him along (rather than having to put his finger in every pie, as it were).  And, to paraphrase one of his later incarnations, for some reason he liked to wear a decorative vegetable...

Despite the Fifth Doctor's casual nature and whimsical attire, the plots of his time grew a bit more serious.  One human companion was killed in action, and another proved to be a secret agent with murderous intent.  The end of the Fifth Doctor's reign came when he sacrificed himself to save still another companion.  I haven't watched any of this Doctor's episodes, but I did see him come back through time to meet the Tenth in a special short made for charity.

Quotations:

"There's always something to look at if you open your eyes!"

"You may disguise your features but you can never disguise your intent."

The Fifth Doctor is a SAGITTARIUS.  I'm sure I must be making the shoe fit somehow, but the list of characteristics seems to match up yet again... "optimistic, jovial, honest, but also a bit tactless, blindly optimistic, and reckless."  The Fifth Doctor seemed to try first to turn enemies into friends, and only fight them as a last resort.  His idealistic emphasis on making the world a better place also seems to mesh with the Sagittarius penchant for pondering the meaning of life and valuing freedom and truth.

The New Year's Resolution for the sometimes flighty Sagittarius is to think about cooling your jets once in a while.  Instead of looking ahead to the next, greener pasture, have a look at what's around you right now.  As with some of the other signs, such a remedy can also feed into the other aspects of this personality type, such as philosophical contemplation.

[See the introduction for more about sources and motivations for this series of posts.]

The 4th Regeneration of Christmas

The Fourth Doctor was played by the fantabulous Tom Baker from 1974 to 1981.  This is the Doctor that most Americans my age remember from PBS reruns back in the day, with the long multi-colored scarf, frenzied hair, and robot dog.  He was certainly my introduction to the franchise, and the one that I had the toughest time putting aside when the idea of other Doctors was introduced to me later on.

The Fourth Doctor was distinctly younger than any of his prior incarnations, and he had a frenetic, eccentric energy that seemed to light up any room he was in.  His collaborations with Earth-based U.N.I.T. tailed off, and he again took to the stars with his companions.  I remember prim Sarah Jane and wild, technology-phobic Leela, but he also traveled with a younger Time Lord (Time Lady?) named Romanadvoratrelundar (Romana for short).

Quotations:

"There's no point being grown-up if you can't be childish sometimes."

"Homo sapiens. What an inventive, invincible species. It's only a few million years since they crawled up out of the mud and learned to walk. Puny, defenceless bipeds. They've survived flood, famine and plague. They've survived cosmic wars and holocausts. And now, here they are, out among the stars, waiting to begin a new life. Ready to outsit eternity. They're indomitable. Indomitable."

The Fourth Doctor is a SCORPIO.  Again, I'm surprised at the way this Zodiacal progression continues to fit with each incarnation in turn.  (In case you haven't realized, we're just going sign by sign with the Sun through the year, not skipping around.)  Characteristics of this sign include "emotional, forceful, passionate, magnetic, and obstinate."  That's the Fourth Doctor to a tee.  Dawn Ellis described Tom Baker as "...a complete Scorpio in the best sense of the word -- intense and curious and crazy-passionate when faced with amazing mysteries."

Is it any surprise, then, that the New Year's Resolution for a Scorpio is to sit still once in a while?  :-)  Tumult and passion may be fun for you, but it's also important to stick with something long enough to really internalize all aspects of it, and to bring it to completion.  I'm not a Scorpio, but this is definitely a lesson I could learn better.

[See the introduction for more about sources and motivations for this series of posts.]

The 3rd Regeneration of Christmas

The Third Doctor was played by Jon Pertwee from 1970 to 1974.  The stories of this era often found the Doctor stranded on Earth and forced to work with the para-military organization U.N.I.T. to defeat the monsters and aliens that were coming to call.  With such a milieu, it's probably no surprise that the Third Doctor ended up channeling a bit of James Bond and Austin Powers -- i.e., dapper clothes, karate chops, and a fancy car.

Despite being slightly older in appearance than his previous incarnation, the Third Doctor was a bit less of an absent-minded hobo and more of a take-charge action hero.  He stood his ground against U.N.I.T.'s Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (who would nevertheless remain a good friend of the Doctor's over the decades) when necessary, and he protected his female companions gallantly.  I haven't yet seen any of his adventures beyond some brief clips.

Quotations:

"Courage isn't just a matter of not being frightened, you know. It's being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway."

"A straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but it is by no means the most interesting."

The Third Doctor is a LIBRA.  A list of traits for this sign that I found online began with the four words "Diplomatic, urbane, romantic, and charming."  Certainly seems on-target for the dashing dandy that this Doctor appeared to be!  Libras are supposed to be all about harmony, balance, and maintaining good relationships, and this era certainly saw an increase in group collaboration for the Doctor, too.

The suggested New Year's Resolution for the Libra is to embrace intensity -- i.e., to let your hair down once in a while and stop trying to keep everything in a harmonious state of, well, balance (Libra the scales, duh).  The ancient Greek oracle at Delphi had two mottos written in stone: one was the infamous "Know Thyself," and the other was "Nothing in Excess."  Libras might think they have that second one covered automatically.  However, if you're always keeping an even keel and never letting the boat rock around once in a while, that's a form of excess, too!  :-)

[See the introduction for more about sources and motivations for this series of posts.]

The 2nd Regeneration of Christmas

The Second Doctor was played by Patrick Troughton from 1966 to 1969.  The producers should be commended for not just going for a carbon copy of their original star.  The cranky old Doctor's new incarnation was a breath of fresh air.  The Second Doctor was noticeably younger than the first, and has been described as an impish, sometimes even child-like, "cosmic hobo."

As the 1960s wore on, the "history lesson" episodes got fewer and fewer, and the "monster of the week" episodes began to dominate.  The Second Doctor's companions included Jamie, a Scottish piper fresh from the Battle of Culloden in 1746, and Zoe Heriot, an adventurous woman from the mysterious fuuuuture of the 21st century (whose tight catsuits were an obvious attempt to draw in the Emma Peel fans in the audience).  I've got to admit that I've only seen brief snippets of this Doctor and no full episodes.

Quotations:

"I'd like to see a butterfly fit into a chrysalis case after it spreads its wings."

"I hate computers and refuse to be bullied by them!"
 
The Second Doctor is a VIRGO.  Since I haven't seen much of this Doctor, I have to trust that Dawn Ellis' assessment of his characteristic fussiness is a good fit, and that his "...frustration at things not going the way they're supposed to (mainly when people do the opposite of what he's told them) is palpable, but he goes along and cleans up the mess anyway, usually finding some kind of insanely amazing treasure along the way."  I wasn't quite sure how well the go-with-the-flow style of a so-called cosmic hobo really meshes with a Virgo's supposed meticulous and perfectionist nature.  But other descriptions of the Second Doctor talk about his ability to deceive and manipulate his enemies when necessary, so apparently more wheels were turning below the surface than he sometimes let on....

A good New Year's Resolution for the hard-working Virgo is to take more time outs and replenish yourself between constant bouts of being of service to others.  Maybe learn to play the recorder, or jot down some musings in your 500-year diary?  :-)

[See the introduction for more about sources and motivations for this series of posts.]

The 1st Regeneration of Christmas

Merry Christmas!  Today starts our holiday journey through space and time....

The First Doctor was played by William Hartnell from 1963 to 1966.  From all appearances, the original idea was that "Doctor Who" was to be a quasi-educational show for children, teaching them about various historical periods and events using the plot device of time travel.  This Doctor wasn't so much a hero or a savior, but more a slightly cranky, absent-minded professor.  Of course, once the ratings for the shows with scary monsters came in, the producers knew that more adventure needed to be in the offing!  :-)

In the earliest adventures of the First Doctor, he traveled with his granddaughter Susan and two of her teachers.  It took them all a while to reveal (or to figure out!) that the Doctor and Susan were alien exiles, Time Lords, from the planet Gallifrey.  I've only seen a handful of these early black-and-white episodes.

Quotation:

"Our lives are important -- at least to us -- and as we see, so we learn... Our destiny is in the stars, so let's go and search for it."

The First Doctor is a LEO.  Just look at that lion's mane of hair, and his often self-centered demeanor.  Leos are also supposed to be creative and outgoing, and this Doctor definitely takes charge and thinks his way out of danger.  (Pretty much all the Doctors do that, of course, so maybe this first incarnation carries a natal stamp through all his other lives, too.)  Other key personality traits of Leos are said to be generosity, heart, and playfulness.  Although he often appeared annoyed and impatient with the events around him, he was always quick with some silly bit of humor.  I chuckled out loud a few times reading through some of his quotes here.

The New Years Resolution for the fiery Leonines among you is to step back a bit and share the limelight.  It doesn't always have to be about you, y'know.  (Something my lovely wife tells me all the time.)  The generous side of the Leo personality should make this not too much of a chore.  The site where I found these Zodiacal resolutions did give the Leos a bit of consolation, though:  "The less attention you seek for personal gratification, the noble side of your nature shines. Ironically, this leads to even greater recognition in the long haul."  :-)

[See the introduction for more about sources and motivations for this series of posts.]

WHO will you be?

Happy Christmas Eve Eve, everyone!  In preparation for my 12 Days of Christmas posts to start on Wednesday, I'm setting out the format here for what I'll be doing.

(Caption for the above picture: "Put your hand in the hand of the man from Gallifrey")

Each post will start with a brief intro to one of the Doctor's incarnations, with a special picture made with a nice TARDIS template/outline that I found here.  That will be followed up by a favorite quotation or two from the Doctor du jour, which I found from the extensive collection at Wikiquote.  My original intent for the quotes was to show how each incarnation was uniquely different from the others, but I think they'll more show what's stayed the same over the last 50 years.

Then comes the interesting bit:  Last year, a writer named Dawn Ellis posted a fascinating idea that suggests there is a link between the personalities of each Doctor and the progression of the Sun through the Zodiac.  It's all tongue-in-cheek, of course, but it's amazing how many aspects line up.  I'll give a quick summary of how well each incarnation compares with the typical characteristics that astrologers propose for each sign.

(I should reiterate that I definitely don't believe in the usual literal interpretation of astrology!  I just don't see any way that the positions of the planets in our solar system could have the proposed effects on a person being born at a particular time.  Nevertheless, astrology provides a very cool and complete "map" of personality archetypes, and it uses colorful, poetic symbols that seem fine-tuned to dovetail with the the quirks of the human subconscious.)

Anyway, since the New Year is also upon us, I will follow up these Doctor/Zodiac musings with a selection from a list of Sun-Sign themed New Year's Resolutions that were posted about a year ago by someone named Sherene Schostak.

Should I call them New Year's Regenerations?  Originally, the idea that the Doctor "regenerates" into another face and body -- when on the brink of death -- was a simple explanation for a new actor taking on the role.  (Does that mean Darrin Stephens is a Time Lord, too?)  However, it's also a wonderful metaphor for how we essentially morph into different people as we age and experience more of life.  The New Year's Resolutions that are right for us in our 30s may not be the ones that are right for us in our 40s.  So, you, good readers, can choose from a baker's dozen of options over the next few weeks, depending on Who you happen to be right now -- and Who you want to become in the new year.

The Doctor is my Co-Pilot

"Another Doctor Who post," you may ask?  Apologies to anyone who doesn't watch the show, but thinking about that itinerant time traveler has been taking me to some strange places lately.  It's also gearing me up for an accelerated pace of blogging, coming up in a few weeks, but more on that in a bit.

The idea that I seem to be encountering at every turn is: Doctor Who as a Religion.  More specifically, the concept of the Doctor as Savior.

Artist: Mandie Manzano

Okay, yes... blasphemy on the one hand, nerdy obsession on the other.  I see the silliness.  In my defense, I can point to many others who are talking about it... in videos... in books... academic conferences... and even stage plays.  It's no crazier, I'd contend, than other sci-fi inspired bouts of religious creativity.  Brits have cornered the market on Jediism.  Here in the States we have, um, another religion founded by a sci-fi author... which I shouldn't really mention by name, since I don't want Jerry McGuire, Vinnie Barbarino, and their lawyers rappelling down from the rooftops.

But with the Doctor we have a singular, chimerical, personal savior.  His character was summed up wonderfully by long-time Who screenwriter Terrence Dicks:

"He is still impulsive, idealistic, ready to risk his life for a worthy cause. He still hates tyranny and oppression and anything that is anti-life. He never gives in and he never gives up, however overwhelming the odds against him. The Doctor believes in good and fights evil. Though often caught up in violent situations, he is a man of peace. He is never cruel or cowardly. In fact, to put it simply, the Doctor is a hero. These days there aren't so many of them around."

I tell you, with some trepidation, that what brought this home to me is Christmas. I know I've said before that I walk a somewhat solitary spiritual path, but I still love Christmas.  The good cheer need not have any sectarian limits, I like to think.  I also adore all the phantastical myth-making around the persona of Santa (see past Rankin-Bass musings here and here).  However, the one aspect that always seemed kind of closed off to me, due to my lack of some specific literal beliefs, is the wonder of the nativity.

A week or so ago, "O Holy Night" was playing on the radio (Nat King Cole's classic rendition) and for some reason my mind went to the Doctor.  Coming back again and again to save us petty humans, because he thinks we're just so cool.  Sometimes being brought back from the brink of inhumanity by his all-too-fallible human companions. And, once, being summoned back into life by humanity's collective yearning for salvation (in "Last of the Time Lords"). 

It only lasted a moment, but the nativity never meant more to me.

So where do I go with these thoughts of a fictional alien traveler in persona Christi?  I'm not yet sure.  In the short term, I've set myself a mini-challenge to post on the Twelve Days of Christmas.  There are 12 incarnations (more or less) of the Doctor, after all.  My weird disposition for the occult also urges me to somehow fold in the 12 signs of the zodiac, too.  I'm planning to start short daily posts on Christmas Eve, and go through the season up to Epiphany.  Being that it passes through the new year, I'll also try to mix in some resolutions, too.  Is it relevant at all to GAMES (the nominal pursuit of this blog)?  I have no idea, but I'll at least try to keep that in mind.

Allons-y!

Who nose?

The 50th anniversary Doctor Who special (or, the Adventures of Sand Shoes, Dickie Bow, and Grandpa) was yesterday!  I noticed an old Whovian picture post of mine getting some extra hits, so why not another?  Feel free to discuss speculations and spoilers, sweeties, in the comments.

Back From the Future

I never officially signed up for the Back From the Future blog hop, but after seeing one entry today, an idea popped into my head.  But first, da rules:

You're up before dawn on a Saturday when the doorbell rings. You haven't brewed your coffee so you wonder if you imagined the sound. Plonking the half-filled carafe in the sink, you go to the front door and cautiously swing it open. No one there. As you cast your eyes to the ground, you see a parcel addressed to you ... from you. 

You scoop it up and haul it inside, sensing something legitimate despite the extreme oddness of the situation. Carefully, you pry it open. Inside is a shoebox -- sent from ten years in the future -- and it's filled with items you have sent yourself. 

What's in it?

Just a single piece of paper.  At the top is a short note signed by a symbol that makes me know with certainty who sent it.  It says:

"In a year or two, you'll have the ability to install a program on your computer that will alert you immediately (with as loud a sound as you desire) if and when you type a certain phrase.  Install it, and make it scream bloody murder if it detects the following keystrokes:

I'd really like to *, but *

It doesn't matter what the asterisk wild-cards are.  Just freakin' do it."

Below that note is a scan of the abstract of a scientific paper that's dated from the early 2020s.  I read it once, then I read it again, then I hit my forehead with my hand.

Then I get to work.