Fantastic Fangirls Scribble in their Vampire Diaries

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Caroline

This Thursday marks the season 4 premiere of The Vampire Diaries, a show that doesn’t always seem to get the geek cred it deserves. Today Caroline, Gabby, and Ali get together to talk about what they like about TVD, what they expect from the new season. . .and what the hell happened last year, anyway?

Caroline: There aren’t that many long-running TV shows that I keep up with these days, but The Vampire Diaries is one that I’ve managed to stick with. One of the reasons, as I mentioned in our most recent podcast, is that it requires exactly the amount of attention that I’m willing to devote to it.

First of all, as we all know, the CW network is basically an employment agency for extremely attractive men and women, and TVD certainly holds up its end. You have your dudes with great abs and broody faces, your women with amazing hair and perfect complexions, and basically everybody is either in high school or is a vampire.

Spoilers are behind the cut, but first, enjoy this picture of Ian Somerhalder holding a cat. (Thanks, Internet)

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Doctor Who: The Angels Take Manhattan

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Anika

This post contains spoilers.

Anika: We’re back to wrap up the short first half of DOCTOR WHO series six, specifically the episode The Angels Take Manhattan aka Farewell to the Ponds.

a still from Doctor Who; young Amelia Pond, waiting

So, the three basically filler episodes in between “Asylum of the Daleks” (which was SO GOOD, now having seen the rest of the half-series) had lulled me into the mistakenly safe idea that maybe, just maybe, the Ponds would leave on their own terms. That they’d make their own adult decision, as I wished for in our earlier roundtable, and stop traveling because they wanted to. But no, that was a false sense of security (to quote seemingly all of tumblr: Damn you, Moffat), and the Ponds were ripped away and lost to time. It made Amy even more like Rose (I feel like I am the only person in fandom who thinks they are similar but they are So Similar!) and it made for a heart-breaking half-series ending.

I cried.

Sam: Yeah, I went back and watched “The Eleventh Hour” today, as a way to heal the horrible wounds of sadness that were torn into my very being. Not to be… dramatic (too late!). It’s always sad when the Doctor’s companions leave, except Martha, because she deserved to go out the way she did. Poor Martha. I have to say that I’m kind of glad my favorite Old School companion (Ace!) never got an official send off, because I probably would have been wrecked.

Anyway, to the episode at hand: I had a vague idea, just from the fact that the Angels were the bad guys, how the Ponds would go. But the reality was so much more nuanced and heartbreaking than I had even thought possible. I basically cried from the moment Rory stepped up on that ledge to five minutes after the credits stopped rolling. I think it’s because, even though the last few episode had been filler, like Anika said, they did a good job of building up the emotionality of it. “You’re the first face this face saw,” has been in my head all day, and it makes my heart hurt. It’s so sad and so hard to say goodbye to people you love.

Jessica: I guess I’ll have to be the curmudgeon again, alas! I’m not sure if it’s resentment or just that my brain fires on a way different wavelength than Moffat’s, but I never cry when he wants me to. I will say that I think this episode was almost really great — it had a lot of fantastic elements. For one, even though I’ve never been a big fan of the Ponds, I did appreciate that their best feature — their love for each other — was prominently and sweetly displayed. But there were way too many plot holes for me to totally buy into it. I think that Moffat cared too much about exploiting the deep affection most fans have for the Ponds and not enough about actually writing a cohesive story. It probably doesn’t help that I loathe River Song and I have problems with the characterization of the Doctor in this episode. Still, overall I liked it! It was definitely the second best one of the season, after “Asylum of the Daleks”. It almost makes me wonder if “The Power of Three” was intentionally horrible, to make this one even better by comparison…

Sara: I agree with you, Jessica. There’s something about Moffat telling me how I should feel that turns me into a toddler, stomping my foot, yelling, “No!” This time around, I really did feel for the Doctor and the Ponds, but it was nowhere near the heartbreak I felt at Donna’s end (DONNNNNNNAAAAAAAAA). I did like the Ponds, but I never loved them, so this episode was emotionally okay for me.

The problem with this episode (which I will only go into a little, because I really did like this episode) was a recurring problem with Moffat’s writing in general. He’s SO OBSESSED with writing a story like a tangled web of misdirection and fake-outs because he’s banking on the big finish, the awesome reveal — kind of like a magician and his bag of tricks. It works well for some of his characters, Sherlock especially. It would work as well for the Doctor if he didn’t do it again and again! He’s messing around with time and space (ha, duh!) to tell this incredibly intricate tale, which, at the time, people might buy into. When you go back and think about it just a little harder, however, the plot holes are enormous! It’s off-putting and kind of insulting. I don’t want to be a kid marveling at the quarter that magically appeared out of my ear, I want to be taken seriously as an educated audience member.

Le sigh. Now, for the good things!

JUST WHEN I THOUGHT THE ANGELS COULD NOT GET ANY CREEPIER, ONE FREAKING SMILES. I WAS TERRIFIED.

a still from Doctor Who; a smiling angel

LET ME BE HONEST, I’M STILL TERRIFIED.

I hate you, Moffat. Do you have any idea of how many stone statues there are on my block alone? Let me tell you, walking home last night was an exercise in calming my heart down so it wouldn’t burst out of my chest.

Something that I really liked about this episode made me realize what truly separates Moffat from Davies as a Who writer: the relationship between the Doctor, the companions, and the audience. It’s not too much of a leap of logic to say that, in the past, the companions have been a device for propagating the plot and also, more importantly, to give the audience someone to identify with. We (or at least, I) can’t exactly see ourselves as a brilliant alien genius, running around like a madman and solving all the world’s problems. We can, however, see ourselves as the person running alongside that madman, yelling at him to slow the heck down or rethink that course of action or simply stating the fact that he is indeed mad. That’s how it’s always worked. Whether you see more of yourself in Rose or Mickey or Martha or Donna, the companion is the person we are, while the Doctor is the person we aspire to be.

This episode made me realize this was not the case in Moffat’s Who. Well, not entirely in any case. With all the Doctor’s crazy ripping-of-last-pages-of-books and I-hate-endings-declaration, for once, we were put into a position where we were utterly and completely identifying with the Doctor. He was the person voicing all our inner thoughts and feelings. He was our representation on screen. He was the one desperately grasping with us at the fleeting images of his best friends. And he is the one that is just as lost as we are now. For once, we have become the alien with two hearts–even if both are broken.

a still from Doctor Who; the Doctor, alone on a bench in Central Park

Sam: First off, I think it’s great that we have different reactions to the episode. It helps me put my unabashed love for the show in perspective. That said, I’m not sure I have a problem with plot holes in Doctor Who, honestly. It’s my show the way Once Upon a Time is Anika’s. I hear the criticism and understand it (sometimes, sometimes I really just don’t understand it at all) but I don’t really care. I’ve managed to get what I need from each series since the reboot, and I kind of like how Moffat has reframed our connection to the show. I definitely agree that series 6 was pretty weak (but not as weak as series 3, because of how the Doctor – and RTD – treated Martha) mainly due to Moffat trying too hard with the timey-wimey. I didn’t really get that sense in this episode. Like “A Girl in the Fireplace” and like the entire arc of the Doctor and River, it felt more like The Time Traveler’s Wife and less like the convoluted mess that was “The Wedding of River Song”. Plus the Dixon Hill episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Generally, I think comparing Sherlock to Doctor Who (which I see over and over) is unfair, since Doctor Who has to take into account the younger audience, even if it’s no longer aimed purely at them. This is meant to be a show the entire family can sit down and enjoy… or hide behind the couch and enjoy. Sherlock doesn’t have that limitation, and so can treat its audience accordingly.

But back to the episode! I love noir, so I loved the nods to that genre. And I love the Ponds, and how they love each other (including Melody). The only thing I won’t give them is the Statue of Liberty, because there’s just no way that makes sense. But I don’t even care, because it is kind of a little terrifying to even think about.

Jessica: I think the reason I can’t overlook the plot holes in the show are because I love it so much. Let’s face it, any show about time travel is going to be inconsistent, especially one that is this long running, but I think my main problem is that I don’t feel like I get any payoff from the plot holes that Moffat creates. It’s not like all of these logical fallacies are present BUT I feel like the characterization is really good, or that these episodes add much to the world of the Doctor. Rather, I feel like Moffat sacrifices these things and tries to do something spectacular that doesn’t pay off. Thus I resent these plot problems! It feels like Moffat traded the quirky little show I love for something that is trying to be different, trying to be edgy, trying to be exciting, but just comes off as bland when compared to the way it used to be.

In this particular episode, I just couldn’t bear the way it all hinged on technicalities. One angel just randomly survived the paradox? How is that even possible? Did it not get zapped somewhere? How could the paradox get rid of the Statue of Liberty Angel but somehow this one weird survives? It just doesn’t make sense! AND THEN, even then, it would have been okay if Rory had just been looking in the right direction at the right time. What? That’s not even really going into the fact that the angels look at each other ALL the time in the episode, which they are not supposed to be able to do. And who is that collector guy? Since when do angels look anything other than weepy? How is a baby angel even created? Also, why, exactly, can’t the Doctor go back and visit them? Even if he can’t go back to the exact spot where they were sent, can’t they travel somewhere else and he go visit them? Can’t he go to like 1942 or something instead? I don’t understand how he can be blocked from ever seeing them again if they are in the same universe.

The only other problem I have is probably more of a personal one, of me not liking the the personality of the 11th Doctor that much. Even though I appreciated his attachment to his companions, I couldn’t quite buy into his reactions in this episode, like Amy leaving, to River’s hand getting injured. The Doctor is literally ancient. I’m all for him being emotionally tortured–his humanity (time-lordy-ness?) is what makes you care about him, but I thought the particular reactions in this episode were more on par with a small child that had been through a trauma than an 800-year-old immortal being. It seems like he would have accumulated more coping mechanisms than this. Further, it just doesn’t seem to mesh with the overall emotional picture of the Doctor Moffat has been giving me ever since 11 showed up. Many a time have I ranted that Moffat’s Doctor doesn’t seem to care when he has to kill people, or commit genocide. He doesn’t seem to bat an eye, as long as he and the Ponds make it away okay. And now he is suddenly unable to cope with even a few laugh lines around the eyes? Sigh.

Okay, rant over, maybe. As I said earlier, I also thought there were some really good parts to the episode! It’s probably the first time I haven’t been super annoyed at Amy/Rory in a really long time. They were great! I wish they were like that all the time. I would have been satisfied, and had many more rosy feelings about the Ponds if they had perished after they jumped off the building. Or even if they just disappeared somewhere. That was noble. That was brave. That would have eliminated like half of my problems with plot inconsistencies. I also really appreciated the focus on relationships between the Doctor and his companions. I miss touchy feely-ness sometimes. Probably what I liked the most was that the Angels were scary again. Blink was so terrifying. And then Moffat made the angels lame. But now they are really scary again. It’s the first time I’ve been scared by Doctor Who in a long time. In the end, I can say that this episode gave me hope that future episodes of Doctor Who might be more satisfying. For me, the legacy of season seven is this: next season might be better.

Anika: I really only have one thing to say. It wasn’t Amy and Rory that made me cry. It wasn’t Amy and the Doctor that made me cry. It was Amy and Melody.

a still from Doctor Who; Amy prepares to leave as the Doctor begs her to stay and River watches

See…I love River Song. I love her for the reasons people tend to hate her. She bends all the rules. She basically lives in plot holes. She doesn’t make sense. She personifies the fact that it doesn’t have to make sense — it just has to be fun. I spent a lot of this episode laughing at how coincidental it all was. It was rushed and random and I didn’t find the angels particularly scary. But I enjoyed it because River was there. And I cried because Amy called her Melody and talked to her like a mother to a daughter. That’s enough for me. I suppose it means I don’t love the show in the way you all do, but that’s okay.

Sam: Different perspectives are great! And, like I said, I love all the Ponds. But despite my sadness at the loss of the Amy and Rory, I really can’t wait for Christmas. Even though I don’t think it would kill the Doctor to recognize one of the other religions’ winter holidays on his beloved Earth, having Doctor Who around is my favorite part of the season. And I can’t wait for Clara, or the return of Madame Vastra, my favorite Victorian lesbian Silurian.

Four Fangirls Watch: Doctor Who

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Anika

Doctor Who Series 7, Episode 1, “Asylum of the Daleks”

Oswin, in her chair, addressing the camera

Anika: “Dalek” was the first episode of New Who I saw. I’d watched some episodes of Old Who when I was tiny and it was on PBS, but I only tuned in to the new series because I’d heard Barty Crouch Jr. had been cast as the Tenth Doctor. “Dalek” features the Ninth Doctor but it also features (obviously) a Dalek — a sympathetic Dalek. It won me over. Seven of Nine is my favorite character in all of Star Trek. I’m hardwired to like Oswin. But golly, I really like her.

Jessica: I started watching Doctor Who in 2005 when the new series started airing on the Sci-Fi network. It was love at first viewing, and it’s been a torrid affair. Just the other night I dreamed the Tenth Doctor was my boyfriend and we went to a baseball game together…I’m pleased to say that I enjoyed the pilot tons more than any episode of Season 6! Some very clever things going on. But, I’ll be honest, I still think Steven Moffat is the worst.

Sara: I started watching Doctor Who in the middle of a snowstorm. I think it’s pretty appropriate, actually. The first episode I ever watched was a Ten and Donna one: Partners in Crime. I fell in love. This happened less than a year ago. It took me two weeks to watch the entirety of New Who and about another week to finish off Torchwood. All hail the Brits. Ten is my Doctor, but I love Eleven. What I did not love was this season premire. There was some good, a lot bad, and even more to talk about!

Sam: My first brush with Doctor Who was the TV movie in 1996, which technically makes the Eighth Doctor my first Doctor. When New Who premiered in 2005, I tuned in because I was already a huge Christopher Eccleston fan. I haven’t looked back… I’ve since watched episodes from all Doctor eras (complete runs of 3, 6, and 7, and partials on the others), I’ve gone to the Gallifrey One convention three times, am a big fan of Big Finish, and I did a self-guided tour of Doctor Who filming sites around Wales. I refuse to decide between 7, 9, and 11 for favorite Doctor. And I enjoyed the premiere. I wasn’t big on the Amy/Rory “reveal” (the reason for the divorce), and thought it dragged a bit in the middle, but loved the big Oswin twist and LOVED the way they brought Jenna Louise Coleman in 3 months early, which left a whole big slew of questions.

Anika: Something I noticed right away — both the A plot (Daleks ask the Doctor for help) and the B plot (Amy and Rory) were introduced and resolved in this one episode. I know that Pond Life happened but I didn’t watch it, and I didn’t feel lost, so I know it wasn’t required viewing. But since drawing things out is a main criticism I hear about Moffat (and all of New Who for that matter) I found the quick resolution interesting. But let’s start with Amy and Rory — who did watch Pond Life? What are your thoughts on their relationship, to each other, the Doctor and the show?

Jessica: I didn’t watch Pond Life either, but my reaction was more irritated with Moffat. I am not very fond of Amy, and for me at this point, the relationship between her and Rory is pretty much her only redeeming quality. I was annoyed that their conflict was introduced and resolved so quickly, though I did appreciate the cute-ness of the Doctor’s intervention. As far as her relation to the Doctor, she is my least favorite of the Doctor’s companions. This is partly because I feel as though she is contrived for me to like her, and mostly because she can’t seem to do anything for herself. Ever since she appeared on the show, most episodes seem to center on somebody having to save Amy. I HATE that. Can’t she do anything for herself?

Sara: I totally and utterly agree with you, Jessica. I only started to like Amy was late in Season 5 when she FINALLY acknowledged that Rory is the best man in the universe. I always felt like she was a sort of Mary-Sue and never had to work for her favor with the Doctor. She isn’t particularly clever or awesome, and yet she’s hailed as the Doctor’s best friend from the get-go. I don’t like writers forcing their characters’ likeability on me. I’d like them to earn it. I actually did watch Pond Life before the episode, but it didn’t really add anything to my understanding or enjoyment of the episode. Rory made me laugh out loud with his Ood on the loo comment, but that was pretty much it.

Also, Anika, your point about the A and B plot being resolved in one episode is exactly why I disliked this episode. The resolution of the Ponds divorce, especially. With this issue, Steven Moffat pulled a Ryan Murphy. Yuck. He introduced a problem with two characters to try and elicit an emotional response out of his audience, but, by resolving it within one episode, he cheapened its emotional value and made a mockery of the “issue” at hand. Also, it made no sense. In the last episode of Pond life, Rory is seen leaving their house angrily and Amy is tearfully yelling after him. That does not seem to jive with the story they told in the middle of the episode with Amy “giving Rory up”. Sloppy writing all over the place.

Sam: I think the pregnancy thing was the weakest part of the story, for sure. But as a device to show us the Doctor being good at something human but not at the tech stuff (he needed Oswin for that), I think it was a success. But I’m really really tired of the implication that biological reproduction is the most important part of life/adult relationships. Maybe if that had even been discussed by Rory and Amy, I’d be on board, but it hasn’t been. (BTW, apparently there was a cut bit from Pond Life that clarified things, but it was cut for some unknown reason, so I guess I can’t point to it.)

I’m actually a fan of Amy’s character – or I should say the multi-character of Amelia Pond, Amy Pond, and The Girl Who Waited – and I actually think she’s had quite a bit of agency in her own story (kidnapping in s5 notwithstanding, though she was still pretty active for a Ganger). If anything, she’s getting less credit now, and is almost made to look like a bad guy against the Awesomeness of Rory Williams (who I love, don’t get me wrong). Most of what bugged me about this story is, like Sara said, it seemed to be tacked on. Amy’s love for Rory has been shown over and over again, I find it really hard to believe that things changed that much or that Rory could doubt her… then again, in a society that puts so much pressure on couples to procreate, preferably biologically, maybe she really did feel like she was doing what was best for him.

Anika: I, too, would have preferred if their issues were drawn out. I like Amy and Rory, separately and together, but I know they are leaving and I think I am ready for them to go. So I would rather their issues, since they’ve now been introduced, be the reason they leave. Like, they actually make the adult decision to stop going with the Doctor. I don’t expect it to be that simple or happy. Well, not happy. Bittersweet. Anyway.

I don’t think the pregnancy thing came out of nowhere (though I agree it’s a tiresome plot point) — they did have Melody, and that turned out to be incredibly screwed up. I took the reveal to be an indication of how much it messed with Amy’s mind. She loses everything, her character is practically based on loss at this point, so of course she’s going to push away the only person she’ll never lose. That’s textbook. Of course I could just be reading way too much into her eyeliner. But heavy eyeliner is the calling card of an angry little girl lost and why else would she randomly be made a model but to express that with her make-up?

Amy Pond as a model in "Asylum of the Daleks"

But let’s talk about something I think we all liked: Oswin. And all the possibilities she represents.

Jessica: Oswin was awesome! As I mentioned earlier, my main problem with Amy is that I don’t see her as doing very much for herself. Oswin, on the other hand, seems completely capable of taking care of herself. In fact, if she hadn’t actually been turned into a Dalek, she probably wouldn’t have needed the Doctor’s help at all. That’s the kind of thing I’ve been waiting for in a companion! I want someone who is the Doctor’s equal in some ways, so that he doesn’t always have to save them, but they can actually do things together. I miss the Doctor Who where the Doctor and his companion have delightful romps through time and space rather than always these big mythologies Steven Moffat has created.

For a moment when Oswin was introduced I also found myself wondering if Oswin might be a good love-interest for the Doctor. Personally, I was a big fan of Rose + Doctor, and really, really down on River + Doctor. When done-well, I think this type of storyline brings out the very best of the Doctor, both how human he can be and also drawing attention in a relatable way that the Doctor’s story is really rather tragic. But then she was a Dalek! And all my hopes were dashed.

Sam: I love Oswin Oswald! I loved her before the Dalek reveal, and I love her twice as much afterwards. I literally spent half my day Tuesday reading up on Saint Oswald, the town of Oswestry, Northumbria, and the opera Carmen, in a desperate hunt for clues about her character and her relation (if any) to Clara. I was totally surprised to see Jenna Louise Coleman on my screen, and so pleased with the end result. I am an Oswin fangirl.

Things I loved about Oswin: her clothes, her being smarter than the Doctor in the tech department, but not the people department (it’s usually opposite), and Nina. I wish the Nina line hadn’t been followed up by the “I was going through a phase” thing, but it was still pretty delightful. And if there isn’t Oswin/Nina fanfiction yet, there should be.

But as for romance, I honestly think the Doctor is at his best when his companion is his best friend: someone he loves – and I believe he’s loved every companion from Ian and Barbara through Rory and Amy – and someone who can teach him something about humanity, but while he still remains separate from who we are as a species. I don’t want him to be more human, because he’s the Doctor and he’s wonderful. I have a lot of complicated feelings about how they handled the Ten/Rose thing, and it ended up mostly ruining seasons two and three for me, and almost destroying any good will I had towards the Tenth Doctor. Donna saved him for me, and saved the show for me in a lot of ways. I found River to be a breath of fresh air, because she’s a bit of a Time Lord and a bit of a human, and played by an older woman. And nothing between them is canonically more than flirtation and hints. But we ended the last series with a wedding… I’m ready to leave romance behind for a bit.

Sara: Oswin! I love her! Jenna Louise Coleman is so cute and I really can’t get enough of her. Although I called the whole Oswin-being-a-Dalek thing about five minutes after she was introduced, I still really enjoyed her plotline in the episode. Her interactions with Rory and Doctor made me grin like nobody’s business. Her pushiness reminds me of Donna and her cleverness reminds me of Martha. They are two of my favorite companions, so I’m all on the Oswin train!

Anika: I figured she was a dalek, too, but I was excited for it. I’m just sad that she’s not the new companion AS a Dalek. I could really get behind companion-Dalek-girl. Also, I have to give props to Moffat et al. for making all the convention going Dalek-girl cosplayers canon. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Hannah’s mum on a convention floor. But Oswin was adorable. And had adorable shoes that I would like to own, please. I don’t REALLY want to know how she comes back/who she turns out to be or have been, mostly because I found the River-reveal boring because I’d already figured it out, but… theories? We have had Who actresses play lesser characters before playing companions, but Oswin was a main player. And she was sitting in Jenny’s chair, but we have also had Who sets reused. Both these things make me think they’re playing with my mind! But maybe that’s just me…

Oswin smirking at the camera

Sam: I have so many theories. I’d hit a dead end with all my Os-related searching, but the mention of Jenny’s chair… and I keep thinking about who Oswin’s mother is (or whatever mother she constructed in her dream world), and how that’s related. But the Jenny thing, I mean. Jenny is one of my all-time favorite Doctor Who characters from both Old and New Who, and now I’m practically bursting with theories, all of which will probably turn out wrong. Maybe I should write them in their own post…

Sara: Okay, for a complete non-sequitur, I’m going to talk about the most hard hitting part of the episode for me: The implications of the Question–the First Question, the Oldest Question of All Time, the Question That Must Never Be Answered–being asked. DOCTOR WHO? Yes. Yes, yes, yes. It has been asked and we can only assume that we are in for a bumpy, bumpy ride. At the end of last season, Dorium (big blue guy, er, head) reminds the Doctor that the fall of the eleventh is still on the horizon and then lets him know that the question that must never be answered is Doctor Who? Now, there are a lot of curious things surrounding this. Why must not? Is the answering of the question going to bring on the Silence? Is it going to unravel the entirety of Time and Space? Who the hell knows? It’s Moffat. He spins webs so convoluted that even he gets confused sometimes.

But, to be slightly more focused, I want to pose my queries/theories regarding the implication of freaking DALEKS not remembering who THE DOCTOR is. WOW! Oh, wow. My immediate thought was that the Daleks and the Doctor are so intertwined in their timestreams and personal histories AND that the Daleks are also time travelers. So, because they exist in various points throughout space and time, is this going to cause a paradox event? If the Daleks jump around through time in order to avoid and/or attack the Doctor, then what is going to happen if they cannot remember who he is? Also, will this do anything to the events of the Time War? Like, with the eternal time loop be broken because of this? Let’s not forget, we are on the cusp of the 50th Anniversary of this show. What better way to commemorate the milestone then by returning to Gallifrey?

I would like to say that this is all pure conjecture and I am probably wrong about 99.99999999% of it!

Jessica: I have no theories because I don’t like Who mythology. I think that’s been my main problem with most Moffat episodes. For me, I feel like he creates these grand arcs that personally have absolutely zero resonance. I miss the days of Eccleston and Tennant because I feel like Doctor Who used to have really great characterization, so that I used to actually feel things while watching episodes (even for characters who only appeared once!) and Moffat makes it all about explosions and half-sensical reveals. But I really liked this episode, for the most part! It felt more in the spirit of show I used to really love. I think I would be very disappointed if it ends up being tied into more of that nonsense from the past couple of seasons, although it seems very likely that it will be. I did think it was a nice way to re-set the Dalek storyline, which was becoming rather rote. I think overall it shows a lot of promise for the new season!

Sam: I think opening Gallifrey up for the 50th anniversary makes a lot of sense. If they want to do a year full of tributes, having access to the old stories and characters is a good idea. I think RTD royally messed up the whole Gallifrey thing, especially with that ridiculousness with the Master, but that’s just an opinion, and I’d like to see Moffat tackle it.

Personally, I think this makes the Daleks interesting again. They’re the Doctor’s oldest foes, and I’m excited to see how rebooting them plays out.

Anika: …I just really want a Dalek companion. As much as I liked Oswin and the resolution of this episode, my favorite moment was Amy’s Dalek hallucination. There was a vague end-of-Titanic feel to it, and then there was a ballerina. A ballerina Dalek. I LOVED that. Daleks are clunky, menacing, antiseptic, scary, and mean. The opposite of a young ballerina with flowing hair. But they both dance in a circle. “Do you know how you make someone into a Dalek? Subtract love, add anger.” Somewhere inside that spinning Dalek is a little girl who still loves to dance.

Two animated images side by side -- a young ballerina and a small white Dalek, both spinning

Those are the moments I watch for, and those are the questions I’m interested in.

Ballerina gif found on tumblr, maker unknown.

Two Girls and a Bat: The Dark Knight Rises

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Anika

This post contains spoilers for Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.

Anika: I had low to no expectations going into this film. I love Batman Begins but I have a lot of issues with The Dark Knight and nothing about the previews enticed me. I don’t like Catwoman and I worried about a lot of superfluous characters getting in the way of the story I wanted to watch: The Revenge of Talia al Ghul. I spent most of the build up to the premiere trying to convince myself that I didn’t care, but two days before the movie opened I realized it wasn’t working. I really, really, really wanted to watch The Revenge of Talia al Ghul.

In that, I’m happy. Her plot could have been handled better — simply introducing Miranda Tate in the second film would have helped — but her characterization was spot on. Plus I actually loved Anne Hathaway’s Selina, none of the many characters came off superfluous, and watching this third installment made me appreciate the trilogy more. Especially what it has to say about Bruce Wayne, and about Batman. I loved the ending. But I’m still processing my thoughts and feelings about all the rest.

Caroline: I’m not sure what I was expecting going into The Dark Knight Rises. . .and I’m still not sure what I watched, so I guess that’s fitting.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the recent wave of superhero movies. I recently dug up the journal I was keeping when I first watched Batman Begins, and it reminded me how completely fresh and original that movie felt in 2005. It was a superhero story, but in a very back-to-basics way where it was less about gadgets and effects than the evolution of this single character. When Marvel made Iron Man in 2008, I think they were scrambling to keep up, and were trying to make a movie in the mold of Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise.

But then Nolan went and put out The Dark Knight and changed the game. Now I’m not saying Nolan improved the game. Iron Man is one of my favorite movies, and God knows there’s a good argument that The Dark Knight has been overpraised. But Nolan jumped from a focused origin story to a sprawling movie about an entire society. The movie is driven by the Joker and Harvey Dent and Jim Gordon and the people of Gotham. Sometimes Batman hardly seemed to be in it at all. I have some very specific issues with TDK — the death of Rachel Dawes is embarrassing, and I still have no idea what that showdown over Gordon’s son is supposed to accomplish — but there’s still so much in the movie that I like. I love that it’s a story about the systems that keep a city going, and I’m fascinated by the exploration of what happens to those systems when you throw a chaotic force like the Joker into them.

So that brings us to The Dark Knight Rises. I was expecting Nolan to put all the pieces together, but I suppose I was expecting more continuation of The Dark Knight. Instead, it feels like a return to Batman Begins. That shouldn’t bother me, because I liked that movie, too, but — I don’t know. In Bane, we’ve got an antagonist who echoes the Joker’s methods, but R’as al Ghul’s goals. And I literally had to go back to the first movie to figure out what R’as’s goals were (and honestly I’m still not sure.) The end result, I think, is to retroactively diminish the Joker’s impact as an antagonist, without bringing anything new to the table.

I could be missing something, though. Anika, you’ve been plotting Talia’s revenge for the past seven years. What do you think she and Bane are after? Or am I asking the wrong question?

Anika: Balance. Balance is what they are all after. Ra’s and Talia say it explicitly; Talia even did so under the guise of Miranda, which I appreciated. I wasn’t looking to be surprised by a Talia reveal, I wanted her to be clearly Ra’s’s daughter throughout and she was. I did have a secret hope that she was also Rachel Dawes — Marion Cotillard resembles Maggie Gyllenhaal enough for this to be plausible to me — that Ra’s had planned the whole thing from their childhood, planting a cuckoo… But I love that Talia’s backstory ends up being a mirror of Bruce’s. She was born with nothing and gained her father, wealth, and power, and he was born with everything and loses it all. Balance again.

But it extends beyond the League of Shadows. Harvey’s character basically personified balance. The Joker and Bane encouraged the masses to take control so everyone is counted in the same way. Thomas Wayne wanted to raise the whole city up closer to his level. Selina went on about the imbalances between the rich and poor. Rachel shouted that “Justice is about harmony” and it sent Bruce running for seven years.

Bane wanted to follow Talia and Talia wanted to exact revenge and finish what her father started, and if we’re to believe Alfred, it’s what the Joker wanted, too. Talia wanted to watch Gotham burn. Her goal was to level everything so it may rise again, stronger, from the ashes, like she did.

The disconnect I have is with the street brawl between Gotham’s finest and Bane’s army of miscreants. In The Dark Knight the Joker sets up the average people of Gotham with prisoners and both sides choose not to kill anyone. Not to fight. But in The Dark Knight Rises we get the GCPD plus Batman and Catwoman beating down a mob made up of a guerrilla version of the League of Shadows, a bunch of prisoners that were mistreated by the legal system under the Harvey Dent Law (whatever that is), and quite possibly some random Gothamites who decided to answer Bane’s call sometime in the five months they were under siege. And Gordon, the best of Gotham’s police force, admits to Blake that even he has been corrupted. So it’s a brawl between a spectrum of grey characters and it makes me extremely uncomfortable. Which could very well be the point and lends credence to the al Ghul goals but I don’t like it.

I think I’m just too much of an idealist for the Nolanverse.

Caroline: You know, I have to agree with you about that, which I wouldn’t have said after The Dark Knight. I’m not that much of an idealist for one thing. But even if I had been, I didn’t think that The Dark Knight was a fundamentally cynical movie. It was quite a big point in that film that the Joker is sometimes right about people, but sometimes — important times — he’s also wrong.

Here, like you say, the cops and the convicts become rival gangs, everybody trying to work within the system is tarnished, and the tarnishing is treated as justification for ~~Robin~~ Blake going outside of it at the ending. That frustrates me because I like the idea of Gordon as a good cop making the best choices he can in a corrupt system. Here he ends up being basically shamed and apologizing for what seems like an understandable lie. What difference does it make to Gotham how Harvey Dent died? If the Dent Act is supposed to represent some corruption of due process that allowed Gotham to clean up its streets at the price of Gordon’s integrity — well, it seems like the problem is the law, not the lie. There was a lot of that kind of thing, where the movie’s moral compass seemed to be just a bit off. Though on the other hand, I appreciated Alfred’s apology for hiding Rachel’s letter almost enough to forgive him for doing it.

Now, speaking of Rachel — I love the idea of revealing a connection between her and Talia, but that wasn’t to be. I’ve come to appreciate Rachel’s role in the first film, particularly, more and more on repeated viewings. I wonder if John Blake is here in part to fill the role that Rachel did in the first film. He’s an original-to-the-movieverse character who serves to ground Bruce and remind him where he came from. I admit I was distracted by his early scenes, wondering why his function couldn’t have been filled by Renee Montoya, the best-known uniform officer turned detective in the Batman universe. But even putting that aside, I couldn’t quite figure out where to slot him.

What did you think of Blake’s character? Good idea, bad idea? Does he do anything to fill the idealist quota for the film? (Don’t worry. Once we get done with him we can talk about Catwoman.)

Anika: I liked Blake. As soon as Bruce said “anyone can be Batman” I knew Blake was going to end up in the suit but I liked to watch his journey to it. And I think you’re right. He does fill that same purpose as Rachel, and yes he is idealistic. Seeing that it bugs me that Rachel is killed off by harsh reality and Blake is set up to fight it. But Blake’s character is driven by (and possibly consists of) his relationship to Bruce, and to Gordon, so he isn’t necessarily better served than her.

I was honestly a bit dumbstruck when Joseph Gordon-Levitt launched into a monologue to describe how he knew Bruce Wayne was Batman (how anyone didn’t know, I’m not sure since Bruce and Bats both disappeared and reappeared from public sight at the exact same time?). But by the end of that exchange I was interested in the character. I wanted him to be Robin. So I vote good idea because John Blake has the potential to be “the hero that Gotham needs”. He seems made of stronger stuff than Harvey Dent and he’s not as removed as Bruce Wayne is. Bruce is such an introvert.

Caroline: You make a good point that it’s hard to dislike Blake. He doesn’t have any notable character flaws, but he’s not obnoxious about it or unrealistically good at everything in way that makes people cry, “Gary Stu.” He’s set up to take over as Batman at the end, and he’s much more well adjusted about it than Bruce. Which, well. . .

Is that what anybody wants to see? A well-adjusted Batman? I realize there’s a point at which there’s a risk of fetishizing a character’s flaws, and I never get the point of bashing characters as boring just because they’re well-adjusted. On the other hand, there’s no point in denying that darkness is part of what draws people to Batman as a character. Blake hardly even exists as a person, except as a reflection of Bruce and Gordon. It’s hard to imagine Blake as a hero in his own movie, since he doesn’t have any apparent internal conflict — and hardly any external conflict really. He calls Bruce out on his identity and Gordon on his lie and the response is basically, “Gee, buddy, you’re right. What can we say?” I don’t see how you get even a 90 minute movie out of the guy, barring a personality transplant.

On the other hand, I’d watch an Anne Hathaway-as-Selina Kyle movie any time. Right now, can I get one right now? This doesn’t come as any shock. Anne Hathaway is in my top tier of actresses, and I’ve loved Catwoman since the Michelle Pfeiffer movie, and Selina, along with the cops of Gotham Central, was my gateway drug into the DCU. Still, it’s gratifying to see her getting such universal kudos (even from a certified nonfan of the character like you, Anika).

I might go so far to say that Hathaway’s Selina already had her own movie, because every scene she was in seemed to have dropped in from a different, livelier universe. Batman Begins had its share of laugh lines — Bale even gets most of them — but The Dark Knight is almost universally dour. TDKR threatens to repeat that, except when Selina’s on the screen. She still has her share of, “There’s a storm coming,” and “You should be as terrified of Bane as I am!” to say, but for the most part, she looks like the only person on screen allowing herself to have a good time. (I was particularly fond of the “Do those shoes hurt?” “I don’t know, do they?” exchange, punctuated by Selina basically stabbing a dude with her spike heel.)

I wouldn’t go so far to say she and Bale have chemistry, but then I keep straining to think of the last time Bale portrayed convincing sexual chemistry on screen. (For what it’s worth, I keep coming up with Jack and David in Newsies.) It does seem to liven him up, though, to have a co-star with whom he can trade banter rather than ponderous speeches. In a world where everybody seems bound and determined to exposit their own life story, if not somebody else’s, I liked that Selina’s past and circumstances retained a bit of mystery.

Anika: My husband and I came out of the movie saying “Anne Hathaway should be a superstar and if DC and WB had any sense they’d greenlight a Catwoman prequel right now”. I have no evidence DC or WB has any sense but I did enjoy Selina. I especially liked that she was looking out for her own, for downtrodden young women, because that’s something she does but not something that people know about her. My main problem with the character is how she’s most often depicted as either one half of a One True Pairing (and it’s not mine) or as a one note sex kitten bad girl with a heart of gold. Anne’s Selina had more notes. And, this is crazy (but call me, maybe — wait, no, just kidding), but because of how Bruce was portrayed I actually like them ending up together. I like the idea that they can reinvent themselves and, well, be well-adjusted-ish. I… I think I ship it. I don’t even know who I am anymore!

Except, I do. I’m the girl that likes Bruce Wayne more than Batman. I’m like Alfred so of course I can get behind Alfred’s dream. Especially after Alfred’s apology at the burial made me sob. Bruce Wayne is a control freak who thinks he knows what’s best for everyone and it is wildly out of character for him to leave Gotham and all his toys to a kid. But I think I like it because of that. If Bruce can let himself have a happy ending, and acknowledge that the kid will be better at the job because he doesn’t have all of Bruce’s baggage, if Bruce can let go and move on and be okay — well, maybe the rest of us will be. Talia used the street brawl as a distraction, maybe Nolan did, too.

Caroline: Maybe. I wasn’t sure about the ending — I liked the suggestion I read somewhere, that Selina and Bruce aren’t a couple, he’s just helping her plan a heist. For great justice, of course.

I did appreciate Alfred’s dream for Bruce — when I wasn’t getting distracted by how much it’s like Ben Affleck’s big emotional speech in Good Will Hunting –but I don’t know how I feel about the movie expecting the audience to share it. It’s not Batman or Bruce I care most about. It’s Gotham, so Bruce outside of Gotham is something I greet with a shrug. (Though I’d totally watch a movie starring Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway as ambiguously involved international jewel thieves, staging capers for great justice. Get on that, Hollywood!)

On the other hand, I don’t know what kind of ending I would have wanted. How do you put the cap on a franchise about a character whose story has been told and retold, with infinite variations, for over sixty years? If I came out of this film feeling like Batman’s story was over, then I would be disappointed.

Now. Time to start counting down to the reboot.

Wanting More: The Cape

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Anika

Over the weekend, NBC premiered its new superhero drama, The Cape. After watching the first two episodes, Caroline and Anika had some thoughts.

Caroline: Considering how popular superhero movies are, and how serialized superhero comics tend to be, I’m always surprised we don’t see more successful live action TV shows about superheroes. This obviously wasn’t always the case, if you look at classics like The Incredible Hulk and Wonder Woman. But with the exception of Smallville, and the early success of Heroes, there haven’t been many in recent years. Recently, though, No Ordinary Family seems to be hanging around and now there’s The Cape.

I’ve always thought that special effects were the big barrier to crossing over. You’re just not going to make a weekly TV show that looks as good as Iron Man. But after watching The Cape premiere — which I thought looked pretty good, considering — I wonder if there’s something about the stories in the genre that presents an obstacle of its own. This was the big ‘origin’ episode, which you’d think is perfect material for a TV pilot. Still, this one didn’t really work for me. Nothing that happened in these two episodes was the least bit unexpected, to me, and I don’t think it was just because I’ve seen so many superhero origins. I’m not sure if it’s just impossible to do something really original in a show like this, or if the people behind this show weren’t trying hard enough.

I’m coming really negative out of the gate, though, so let me slow down. What did you think of The Cape’s first two episodes as an origin story? Were there any parts of it that did strike you as unique, or as having potential for future development? Or am I looking at this the wrong way?

Anika: I’m going to answer question 2 first — No, there was nothing that struck me as unique or new (or as you said, surprising), but yes, there were parts that I think can be more developed and beyond the obvious. I think, given a chance, something good could be created from the pieces that exist. But I will be very surprised if they are given that chance, this show is quirky at best and far more solid quirky shows have failed quickly on network TV. So they better become something quick.

And that sort of answers question one: I think these two episodes were clunky. They introduced the cast, but just barely and I don’t know anyone’s name except the kid (because Trip Faraday is an amazing name). They introduced the problem, but it is tired (how many wrongfully accused supercops did we have in TV and movies over the last year? How many of them have a dark past but secretly want to be a family man?). And they introduced the style, which is very comic-booky, and I appreciate that more than most, but there has to be something behind it and right now it’s all smoke and mirrors.

But there are glimmers. The main bad guy, Chess, is utterly ridiculous but that doesn’t have to be a detriment. I hope they make him even MORE beholden to chess and the Tarot, like every decision has to match a chess move (this would explain some of the secret society’s oddball decisions, right?). The Cape’s crew, aka the Carnival of Crime, are easily the most fun part of the pilot and that could be built on. And I am somewhat intrigued by the wife’s new job at the courthouse — I don’t know what her job IS exactly, but her fighting crime inside the boundaries of the law could be a cool juxtaposition to the Cape fighting crime outside them.

I have to say I find everyone in this more interesting than The Cape and Summer Glau’s Orwell (whose not actually that clever name is the most intriguing and least irritating thing about her) which is maybe a problem since they are the ones being promoted.

Caroline: Oh, Orwell. I’m almost afraid to get started because I could pound out a rant on the not-so-clever pseudonym alone. I mean, if it’s supposed to be a 1984 reference, then somebody needs a refresher course, because the people who were everywhere watching everything in that book were the bad guys. Whether it’s supposed to be a reference to sci fi or to journalism, there are much better names they could have used. Though, as I said on Twitter, I’ll forgive “Orwell” if it turns out her real name is “Erica Blair.”

As for the character — before the show aired, I was annoyed they didn’t put Summer on the ads, because (a) she has a following and (b) she’s apparently the female lead. After watching the episodes, I like to pretend that River Tam and Cameron Baum beat up some NBC executive and said that if he knew what was good for him, he’d leave Summer out of it. All right, not really, but the thing is, I’m a Summer Glau fan. I understand (though I think they’re a bit unfair) the complaints that she always plays a similar character, but I really enjoy that character. If the intent with Orwell was to have Summer play a different character, you would hope the new version would be better. Instead, though, she combines an Oracle who’s not very good at research with a kickass chick who can’t actually kick ass and either needs to be saved or shows up after the fight is over.

I don’t think that giving the Cape a behind-the-scenes player was an inherently bad idea, but it’s like they made her the co-lead and then realized they would have to show her a lot, thus undermining the point of the character. I hate to say that I was hoping her character would turn out to be agoraphobic or something, but as it is there’s no real reason she needs the Cape to do her legwork. Meanwhile, we’re stuck with Summer Glau pointedly not doing the things we like Summer Glau to do. I have a thin hope that the fallout of her getting beaten up in the second episode is that she will also start training with the circus people. We can hope!

As for the circus characters, I did like them, and I’d like to know more about Vince’s wife if only to understand why he doesn’t particularly seem to miss her. I wasn’t really sold on Chess the villain, to be honest. For that matter, the villain is the reason I wrote off the hero in the first ten minutes of the pilot. Seriously, the rich guy with the private army and you don’t think he might be a bad guy? I do feel compelled to mention, though, that he sometimes has square pupils that make him look like a goat. I can only hope that the big reveal is that he’s been enhancing his DNA in order to achieve super goat powers.

What hopes to you have for this series?

Anika: No one in this series has proven to be particularly bright but you would think someone who reads comics would find that suspicious.

But I actually want dumb bad guys along the line of the poisoner in the second episode. I hope the first round of Tarot bad guys are not that hard to dispatch so the Cape gets better at being a superhero (and The Cape gets better at being a show) in a sort of organic way. And then they can knock Chess off even and get a bigger badder and better supervillain when our hero is ready for it? Possibly I just like hero-making-montages (the one where he took the poison and then made a mask was far too short) and this scenario would lend itself to that. Orwell training with the circus folk could also result in montages…

I hope the mom has more screen time than the kid and more scenes not with the kid (I don’t much like the kid beyond his amazing name). And the best friend who is secretly working for the bad guys but only because the bad guy is threatening his family needs desperately to be developed beyond cliché.

Actually, that works for everything: this show needs to be developed beyond cliché. I guess I hope it is given the time — because I would like to watch a good superhero show and because I want a new original superhero to succeed. I worry if this fails (and it could fail SPECTACULARLY) it could have ramifications far beyond this show.

So, here’s the question at the heart of it all: are you going to watch more?

Caroline: I hear you on this. There’s nothing particularly close to my heart about The Cape but if it fails and if that is taken as a bellweather for the Jessica Jones show, or the Powers project that seems to be perpetually in development at FX, I’ll be disappointed.

Does that mean I’ll keep watching The Cape? Well, it does make me feel like a bit of a hypocrite when I complain that shows aren’t given long enough to prove themselves, if I quit after two episodes. Then again, time is finite and I already have a lot of stuff on my DVR. Granted, it’s mostly episodes of No Reservations but time is time. Check back with me next week and I’ll have made up my mind by then.

Anika: And I hear you on that. Plus I am notorious for not watching these “genre” series unless it stars Joshua Jackson. People assume I watched Lost, Firefly, Smallville, all those Stargate series — but I didn’t. Of those only Firefly even tempted me and basically, I forgot to watch. It’s not just genre shows, I also forgot to watch Cold Case, so it is something I should work on if I want the shows I like to stick around. If I remember The Cape is on I’ll keep watching but it doesn’t count as a show I like yet, so. We’ll see. Or… Josh already has a — WAY BETTER — series, but you know, if they got James Van Der Beek on this show I would totally add it to my alerts. He could be the CAPE’s SIDEkick. Get it?!

Barring that, yeah, we’ll see.

Comics Read by Women

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Sigrid

by Sigrid

This isn’t a post about how to get your girlfriend to care about your hobby. This isn’t even, really, a post about how to get women to read comics. You get women to read comics the same way you get anyone to read anything — you ask them what they like, ponder what you know about the material at hand, and offer a couple of suggestions as to what you think they might enjoy.

That said.

Here are the comics the women I know are actually reading, or have read.

Queen & Country. Available in nice, easy to find, easy to read Absolute collections. By Greg Rucka, Q&C tells the story of being a British spy. It features well-rounded and well-thought-out characters doing tough things. One of those characters — though not the lead in all the stories — is a woman, Tara Chace.

Secret Six. By Gail Simone, this twisted DCU title tells of the adventures of a group of C-List villains. Features strong characters, great dialog, a deeply twisted sense of humor, and canonical GLBT characters in both hero and villain roles. Also hot amazing art by Nicola Scott (usually) who draws extremely attractive men. Mostly available in trades.

Classic X-Factor. Easier, by far, to read than trying to figure out how the hell to read ongoing X-Men titles. Available in Essential editions. Hilariously soap-opera-esque, yet featuring long-standing X-characters all in one easy-to-acquire title.

Birds of Prey. Also by Gail Simone, this mainstream DCU title has kickass women kicking ass. Also getting the tar beat out of them by villains who are nearly their match. High superhero stakes, lots of character-driven plots, lots of fun dialog. Excellent cheesecake art over the course of the title makes the women look hot and sexy and most of the men equally so. Only somewhat available in trades, as DC is weird about this.

Alias. By Brian Michael Bendis, introduces us to the foul-mouthed P.I. Jessica Jones and her former superhero career. Centered in the Marvel Universe. Alias is a classic gumshoe P.I. story with the nearly-deadbeat detective who is just getting by. Amazing character development, plus some great cameos. A good introduction to the the whole Avengers side of Marvel. Available in trades.

Whiteout. By Greg Rucka, again. The story of Agent Carrie Stetko and a murder in Antarctica. With great art by Steve Leiber, who always draws people that really look like people. Another mystery/crime comic that feels intimate. Stetko is a great, flawed, strong character. Available in trade.

Runaways. Part of the Marvel U, but not initially immersed in it, Brian K. Vaughn’s story is a classic — what if your parents really are supervillains? This title has more people of color, a better gender balance, and more GLBT than almost any other Marvel title. Available in trades and manga-sized editions.

Astonishing X-Men. The Joss Whedon run. Great, great writing, snappy dialog, excellent characterization, tightly wound plots. Joss kinda sorta almost based Buffy on Kitty Pryde, so it works well to have him write her. Amazing art by John Cassaday. Available in trades and absolute editions.

New Avengers. Bendis, again. An easy introduction to who the Avengers are. Decent racial and gender mix. EXCELLENT snappy dialog, if you like an Aaron Sorkin walk-and-talk. Available in trades.

The Order. By Matt Fraction with art by Barry Kitson. Most of the women I know have read this because I have made them read it, but none have regretted that. Some of the best writing of original characters in the Marvel U in a long damn time. Extremely character-driven storytelling, with decent character diversity and a wry self-awareness. Available in trades, I think.

X-Men First Class. A look at the early days of the X-Men, adding depth and character moments to those long-ago adventures. Written by Jeff Parker, the series was light and easy and fun, while not avoiding some decent foreshadowing of future events. Available in trades and manga-sized editions.

Gotham Central. A cop/crime series set in the DCU’s Gotham City. Excellent, excellent character writing, good art depicting real people. This series is perfect for whoever likes Law & Order or its ilk.

Invincible Iron Man. Available in trades, this series by Matt Fraction has some of the best ensemble writing out there — and almost all the main characters are women. Besides Tony. The series featured the debut of Pepper Potts as the hero Rescue, which is immensely popular with the women I know.

A few names, you’ll note, recur. Rucka. Simone. Fraction. Bendis. That’s because these writers consistently treat male and female characters as equally important, equally valuable to the story. These writers all write character-driven plots with witty dialog that sounds real to the ear — though, goodness knows, I pine to sound that witty. If the circle of my acquaintances is any indication — and they are my acquaintances, so it’s a small and self-selecting group — this is the kind of story women want.

Of course, we all each have our own titles. I don’t read any Captain American titles, for instance, and I know a lot of women who do. And I love Strangers in Paradise, but that’s not a universal preference among ALL women by any means.

So, women who read comics, what comics are you reading? Guys, what comics are your female friends reading? Women, why do you like the comics you are reading? Is it loyalty to a title you read when you were younger? You like crime fiction? The protagonists are attractive? You enjoy the wish-fulfillment fantasies of power and competence?

Email: sigrid @ fantasticfangirls.org
Twitter: sigridellis

SuperHeroStuff.com

Posted on February 4, 2010 by Sigrid

by Sigrid

On Twitter this Tuesday I noticed a tweet from an online compatriot, Sarah Kuhn. “There’s *probably* a way to make this product descrip more insulting, but I can’t think of it. http://twurl.cc/25bj” I went to the site and found the Marvel “Girls Rule” t-shirt for sale, with the following marketing copy next to it:

“Made from 50% Cotton, 50% Polyester, this cream colored, woman’s T-Shirt features purposely faded images of your favorite female Marvel comic book characters! Well, they’re your favorite, but your girlfriend (or sister) will actually be wearing the tshirt! HUZZAH! Hmmm…Can’t decide which Marvel Super-heroine I wish to add to my fantasy harem first. Spiderwoman is DEFINITELY in there. Black Widow…maybe; she’s just a little too…used for me. HUZZAH! Hellcat? Absolutely. Scarlet Witch? Maybe not. She could unmake me if I forget to dry the dishes or something. Invisible Woman? YES! It’s the hot mom thing! And….Marvel Girl. NOPE! Too damn whiney, not enough character and she tends to die when things get rough! Now, this Marvel tee is EXTREMELY limited, so buy the shirt, tell your girlfriend which female Marvel character you wish them to emulate, get dumped, go back to the imaginary harem.”

I read this a couple of times, trying to figure out the intentions and assumptions behind the text. As far as I can tell, the intended audience is all men, and these men would rather spend time ogling soft-core porn than getting laid with a living human girlfriend. (It goes without saying that the only purpose of girlfriends in this context is sexual. No conversation, intellectual challenge, humor, or mutual support is conceivable.) In fact, the intended audience is invited to persuade their sisters, should they have any, to wear this shirt so that the intended audience can readily ogle attractive women on the breasts of their sister. Don’t think of your sister sexually, in other words, but use her as a prop to hold up your jerk-off material.

By Tuesday evening I had heard about ten or so remarks of outrage and disgust from various friends and acquaintances. My friend Kelly cc’d me the email she had sent to SuperHeroStuff.com expressing her anger and intention to encourage all her friends to never buy from the site. Around dinner time I sent the following email to SuperHeroStuff.com:

Dear Sir or Madame:

Hello, my name is Sigrid Ellis and I write for the comics blog Fantastic Fangirls. I’ve noticed today on Twitter that a number of people are offended by the copy accompanying this Marvel T-shirt:

[Edit: URL here]

I am writing an article for my website, to be published on this Thursday, regarding my views and the views of others who are offended by this text. Before I do that, I would appreciate it if you could answer a few questions and present your intentions for that copy.

Who are your customers? Who do you hope to attract with the text? What percentage of your customers are women? Have you received any feedback, positive or negative, about the texts you place with images? What sort of joke or humor is this intended to be? Are you concerned at all that women may find this offensive? Are you concerned at all that Disney may be offended by the explicit sexualizing of their property, since Disney bought Marvel?

If you could address any of these issues, or speak further on the subject, sometime tomorrow (February 3, 2010) I can incorporate your views into my article.

Thank you, I appreciate your attention to this.

Sincerely,

Sigrid Ellis

As of 8:00 Wednesday night, as I’m finishing this essay for tomorrow’s posting, I still haven’t heard from SuperHeroStuff.com. But Kelly did receive a response to her email of protest. The employee who replied apologized. More importantly, the marketing copy has been changed. If you go look at the T-shirt on their site now, you see this:

“Made from 50% Cotton, 50% Polyester, this cream colored, woman’s T-Shirt features purposely faded images of your favorite female Marvel comic book characters! There’s the Black Widow, spying on you! There’s the Invisible Woman, launching invisibility at you! There’s the Scarlet Witch, unmaking your reality, and there’s Hellcat…wait. Hellcat!!? Anyways, this tee is absolutely for you, female comic book fan! “

Well. Look at that. Moreover, much of the rest of the Women’s T-shirt line at SuperHeroStuff.com has been altered in the last twenty-four hours. Nearly every Women’s T-shirt I looked at now has copy marketed to women. To female customers, buying the Batman shirt because they love Batman, buying the Catwoman shirt because they like to feel sexy. In the interests of honesty, I still am not compelled by the marketing text — for instance, I don’t need my boyfriend to buy me my favorite Flash T-shirt. But that’s okay — SuperHerostuff.com is now trying to sell their Women’s T-shirts to women. To women as agents, or at least consumers with money, in their own right.

Thank you, SuperHeroStuff.com, for responding positively to customer feedback. I appreciate it.

Email: sigrid @ fantasticfangirls.org
Twitter: sigridellis

DC Dreams

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Anika

This week, Caroline and Jennifer are on vacation. Last anyone heard, they were touring Alcatraz, looking for sites of the X3 movie. As a result, Anika and Sigrid are sharing with you two conversations about their comics wish-list. Earlier this week, they discussed their hopes for the future of Marvel’s titles. In this installment they discuss the plots and character developments they’d like to see in DC’s comics. So, listen in and join the conversation in comments — what plots or stories to you yearn to see from DC in the coming year?

Sigrid:

I have to say, I am really enthusiastic about the Bat-women. Not just Batwoman, but Batgirl and Oracle. I’m always fascinated by the cultural split in the bat-kids — namely the divide between those who came to vigilantism due to trauma, and those who came to it out of a desire for achievement. (Dick came to it out of trauma, Barbara in pursuit of achievement and then a second time out of trauma, Tim out of achievement, etc.) I mean, the bat-family is deeply dysfunctional. And I really, really dislike Batman for the way he raises these kids. They’ve all gotten killed, or nearly killed, trying to earn a single word of praise from him! So that all puts an interesting spin on Kate Kane.

As far as I can tell — as far as we know, so far — Kate Kane uses the bat-symbolism for her own traumatic reasons. But those reasons have nothing to do with making Batman happy. And they have nothing to do with pleasing a distant and unreachable father. Kate’s father is very present, very supportive. And while he clearly has his own secrets, the relationship between him and Kate is nothing like the relationship Helena has with her father, or Cassandra Cain or Stephanie Brown with theirs. It is, in fact, a lot more like the relationship between Babara and Jim Gordon. What I want to see is how this plays out — what does it mean to be a bat without giving a damn what Batman thinks? What does it mean to be the symbol without knowing or caring where the symbol came from? I hope at some point we see interactions between Batwoman and the new Batman and Robin — the weight of the chips-on-shoulders on Dick and Damien’s part would be fascinating to see from Kate’s point of view. Of course, I could be wrong about some of this — it could turn out that there *is* a Kate connection to Batman that we just haven’t seen yet.

Kate Kane is doing the bat-thing without a bat-mentor, and we’ll see how it goes. But the new Batgirl has Oracle to guide her in this, her latest attempt to be a bat. I think it’s going to be good for Barbara, honestly — handing down her legacy of her own choice, in the manner of her choosing. And I think it’ll be good for Steph to have someone backing her who supports her instead of dubiously tolerating her activities.

So what are you hoping for in the DC titles?

Anika:

Oooooh, I find this insight fascinating. I really like your take on it and I hope that plays out some. I have to say that I was really, really against Dick taking over for Bruce. I’m not sure I had a better alternative but I always saw Dick’s greatest strength as his ability to NOT be Batman. The Bruce Wayne Batman, I mean, the one you describe in his interactions with the Bat family. But for the most part I have been pleasantly surprised thus far and I am tentatively looking forward to it continuing. I worry that at some point Bruce will inevitably come back and all the forward motion that is seemingly occurring will be lost — or even worse, because time travel is involved, it will have “never happened”. That is seriously my DC/Bat titles nightmare.

I am hoping for an end to zombies first and foremost. I am barely following Blackest Night, but I’m following it enough to be counting the days until it is over (I’ve been told March). I honestly cannot come up with anything positive to say about this plot so I am going to move on, but please, please, no more undead.

Please.

(Aside: yes, this also goes for Marvel.)

What I am excited about, is a reunion of the Titans — both generations, as the older one is basically the new Justice League and the younger ones are all FINALLY both alive and speaking. The little meet ups between Cassie, Kon, Bart and Tim in their various titles have all been worth the wait. But they just leave me wanting more. As our frequent commenter Margot and I have discussed, my perfect universe includes the current Teen Titans title being replaced with a return to Young Justice. That is what I am hoping for in whatever way I can get it.

Sigrid:

Huh, tell me more about that? In what way are the older Titans the new Justice League?

And, I agree with your fear about the bat-titles. I am morbidly certain that, at some point, Bruce Wayne will return to being Batman, and we’ll lose all this fascinating character development. Sigh.

Anika:

Well, the new current main roster of the JLA (yeah, that old chestnut!) includes Dick Grayson, Starfire, Donna Troy and Cyborg. And Green Arrow and Green Lantern are the only real “name” first generationers (I am sure someone will argue that, but it’s my feeling). Dick is Batman, Donna’s in for the Wonders and their Kryptonian is Mon-El. In a way, it’s pretty exciting. For the first time in ages, DC feels “new” and I especially love Dick, Donna and Starfire together and in the big leagues. As I said before, I’m pretty happy with Dick’s run as Batman so far. I adore Starfire and after the disaster that was her plot in the never-ending crises and aftermath of crises, I’m excited to see her back at Dick’s side in a more real way. Again, Batman having actual relationships that are actually healthy? It’s exciting. I thought Batman was going to change Dick, that’s why I didn’t want him to win the cowl. But instead Dick is changing Batman. And Kory is. And Donna.

And Donna, like Kory, also has had a few years of really awful plot. So the drama! She’s not my favorite Wonder, I like Cassie best and Diana next, but putting her back with Dick and Kory, I like it. Now if we can just do right by the other two.

Cassie is easy. In my head at least. I’ve already mentioned — get her back with Tim, Bart and Kon. Bring Kara back, too, and how about Cissie? That’s three boys and three girls, it’s just right. We can sub in Steph’s Batgirl for either Kara or Cissie if we don’t want to interfere with their development. And hey, if the losers on Cassie’s current team want to stay the Teen Titans, let them. Cassie and crew can be the Titans, no Teen, now vacated by the above new Justice League. Or they can go back to Young Justice. Or just Justice if they want to be considered not young. Simple and I would be MONUMENTALLY HAPPY.

As for Diana . . .

Sigh.

I am not enjoying the direction that Wonder Woman has been taken in. It is not necessarily a new problem, Wonder Woman is historically difficult, just ask any of the people trying to give her a movie. But I am still sad at it. In theory, Diana is an amazing character. In practice she’s a mess. I don’t really have a solution, however. Creators I love elsewhere writing Wonder Woman still make me cringe.

Sigrid:

Wow, this really sells me on the JLA! And I don’t *read* JLA! But those are the Titans I read, the ones I know a little bit about.

I like the idea of Dick changing Batman. In fact, one of the things I have *always* liked about DC is the way titles and roles get handed off to new generations of heroes. The symbolism and meaning get passed on, the weight of tradition to be wielded by new hands. Superheroing is a calling in the DC universe, a position to be filled by those with the character and the skills to meet the need. Yet each new bearer of the standard contributes something of his- or her- self to the job. Dick Grayson is driven, he has his demons, but he has always been more personable that Bruce’s Batman. I fully expect him to humanize the role.

I can’t really speak as to Wonder Woman — I don’t read the title, though I mean to pick up the Rucka run on it at some point.

I can’t think of anything I’m really opposed to in the DCU right now — mostly because I’m not invested. I only read a handful of the bat-related titles, and only those titles featuring the women. I think my biggest hope for the future in DC is that they *not* undo or take back any of the major stories of the last five years or so. I know there’s a certain amount of griping that Dark Reign is going on too long in Marvel — I say, let it continue. Let there be a couple years of *consequences*, dammit. And let’s have that in DC, too. Let the consequences continue.

Anika:

I one hundred and ten percent agree with you about consequences. That is what I mean when I complain about the “it never happened” plots. Within consequence is character development. And that is what I read comics for. Not the big plot and drama and action and zoom zoom. The characters and how they act, react and interact.

I know what you mean about Wonder Woman — I know there’s a lot of stuff going on with the Supers and the Flash family but I am not reading any of it regularly. I do want to give a shout out to Power Girl because as much as I make fun of her, I also find her rather charming. And while I do not understand the huge number of Flashes that are now around (seriously, they were ALL dead and now they are ALL back. And ALL named Flash!), the newest and littlest, Wally’s daughter Impulse, is absolutely adorable.

I think that is what I like best about DC, they do family well. Unconventional, certainly. Confusing, always. Dysfunctional, you bet. But — well. There’s a lot to be said for that simple dynamic.

And yes, I had stronger feelings about Marvel, but part of it is that what is happening in the DCU right now is hopeful. A lot of the things I’ve mentioned are possible, some of them even seemto be happening. So in that sense, it’s not a bad thing to not have as much to say!

What plots or stories to you yearn to see from DC in the coming year?

Marvel Dreams

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Anika

This week, Caroline and Jennifer are on vacation. Last anyone heard, they were scouting Golden Gate Park, looking for the tree in which Wolverine naps in Uncanny X-Men. As a result, Anika and Sigrid are sharing with you two conversations about their comics wish-list. In this installment they discuss the plots and character developments they’d like to see in Marvel. Later this week they’ll spotlight DC.

So, listen in and join the conversation in comments — what plots or stories to you yearn to see from Marvel in the coming year?

Anika:

I will start with saying I love what has been happening with Carol Danvers. Ms. Marvel is easily my favorite ongoing title and the only one I follow without fail. I also love her in New Avengers. It’s fair to say she’s the one character in all of comics I am currently most invested in.

And being so invested is where I get worried that during and post Siege she will not be well-represented. While some rumors and previews excite me — the New Avengers Annual highlighting the women for example — what has been said about the main plot, and what can be extrapolated, is more concerning. My main fear is that she will be sidelined in the final confrontation in favor of the Iron Man and Captain America reunion and the triumphant return of Thor, both of which I have mixed feelings about. I love Cap and Tony as much as the next Marvel fan, but to be perfectly honest, I wish Steve had stayed dead. I wish most he’d never been killed but having been killed, and with Bucky in place as the new Captain America, I’d prefer he not return. And Thor — I just really don’t care at all about Thor. So, if I were in charge, the end of Dark Reign would be all about an Iron Man, Bucky!Captain America and Ms. Marvel team up.

That won’t happen. So what do I realistically want? More of the same really. I want her to continue in a leadership role, I want her to continue to explore the different and at times warring sides of herself (superhero vs. woman). I’m not opposed to a romance though I’m not really (read: at all) sold on Spider-Man (he is an improvement over Wonder Man but that’s not saying much). I’m really looking forward to Carol fighting alongside BFF Jessica Jones. Really, really. And I desperately want her reunited with Tony. I’m willing to put up with Thor if I get Tony and Carol banter and hijinks.

Sigrid:

I have to say, I’m hoping for more of her interpersonal relationships — her friendships, especially with Jessicas Jones and Drew. I would like to see her step into a, a mentoring role, I suppose, for the — Not the B-listers, but the people who are *not* Steve and Tony and Thor. I could see her giving advice on how you work with those guys to people like Luke, or Karla (if Moonstone gets rehabilitated in this go-round.)

Which, that’s another character I’d like to see sticking around. Karla Sofen, Moonstone. I’m not super-sold on her plot in Ms. Marvel — psychic space babies? Seriously? — but I am adoring her character moments in Dark Avengers. She’s never been that stable, but working for Norman, on Thunderbolts and on the Avengers, has made her worse. I’d like to see her brought into the rehab fold, given a chance to get saner. Perhaps Songbird can run a Thunderbolts team after Siege gets through and have Karla on it.

Are you following the Spider-woman: Agent of SWORD story, either in motion comic or in issues?

Anika:

I’d love to see Karla work through this whole mess. Redemption stories are my most favorite kind, and especially ones about unstable, overly-powerful people.

And Jessica Drew is another favorite. She just never catches a break and I do love angry women. In story! I like her in the various Avengers titles. But no, I have not been following Agent of SWORD because I have a serious aversion to comic book space stories. I know, it’s silly, and many, many people have said they like Spider-Woman and SWORD and that I would too. But I haven’t given it a go. I mean, I haven’t even followed all the Starjammers stories with Polaris and she is my most favorite Marvel girl. So.

I really can’t explain it. I love Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica, I love Hawkgirl and Phoenix. And when I deign to read a comic-space-opera, like The Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire, I like it. But I still go back to not following the story. So, tell me why I should be reading it?

Sigrid:

Ah-hah!! You should be reading Spider-Woman for two reasons — 1) it’s free, on Hulu, in motion comic form, and 2) it’s not in space.

I know, I know, SWORD is a space-type agency. But Jessica Drew is batting clean-up, on Earth. All the aliens that have wormed their way onto the planet, she’s the one who goes after them and arrests them. Think a non-comedy Men in Black crossed with that Keira Knightly film, Domino — you know, the one where she plays real–life junkie bounty hunter Domino Harvey?

TELL ME you have seen this film, mmkay?

Anyway, it’s not in space. Instead, Jessica Drew — traumatized, angry, isolated Jessica Drew — is given a license to hunt aliens. Her first mission? Go after some Skrulls. Oh, yes. Go after and arrest those who worshiped her face and form as the Skrull Queen. Go arrest people complicit in her imprisonment, in the theft of her life. As far as I can tell, this comic is going to be all about Jessica and the mess she makes of her friendships while she sullens her way around the world in post-traumatic depression, beating people up and avoiding the woman who claims to be Jessica’s mother — Madam Hydra. Guest appearances in the motion comic so far include Carol Danvers.

To quote songwriter Anna Nalick, “I’ll go from bad to worse and later back to better / But I’ll never better bridges that I’m bent to burn.” Jessica is trying to figure out how to move forward in a life she can’t see ahead of her, trying to figure out which of her bridges are truly burnt and which are merely smoldering.

It is, in short, a personal redemption story.

And speaking of redemption stories, and speaking of space, I am tapping my fingers in impatience at the lack of more stories on the space crew — Lorna Dane and Rachel Summers, et al. I am still not in possession of the Rachel story I want — the story of how she redeems herself and the Phoenix, turning her alien guest from a planet-killer into a harnessed force for . . . . Well, for whatever Rachel wants to do. Ideally superheroing, but Rachel being Rachel, I expect it wouldn’t be that simple.

Anika:

Okay, that’s a pretty good sales pitch. Plus (1) I am a Bendis fangirl and (2) I follow Carol Danvers obsessively. So I will give the motion comic a try (I do also think I should support these alternate media choices), and yes, OF COURSE I have seen Domino.

I know you love your Rachel and I would certainly love to see a Phoenix story that was about “taming” the Phoenix? Maybe even using it, but for good. Or it would start out that way but then Phoenix would start gaining more control and we’d be on the brink of planetary destruction (again!) and the host would fight back and it would be the human element that triumphs. I prefer humanish Phoenix to your alienish Phoenix. And I prefer Jean as the host, honestly, but I do like Rachel and her proclivities, and I’ll take her — just not Emma.

In the same vein, I want a Lorna story. But I don’t want a Lorna in space story. I sort of wish Lorna was around in Uncanny X-Men right now. She’d be a good choice to be involved in the politics and PR — it was her role in X-Factor and now that she’s publicly Magneto’s daughter, well, I just think there is a lot of (missed) opportunity there.

But here’s what I want most in a Polaris story. I want her to replace Magneto. I want her to be proven his equal in power, but instead of it driving her mad or turning her evil, I want her to be the Barack Obama of the X-Men: Change you can believe in. Magneto and Xavier — and even Scott, to an extent — are the past, they are too old school. I want to see a new direction, I want to see a mutant-driven storyline that is about how to make the world better for everyone instead of how hated they are. That’s a tired plot. It bores me. I want something new, I want something political about desegregation (Utopia? WTF?) and I want Lorna to bring it.

Hey, I can dream.

Sigrid:

I especially have high hopes for Carol and the Jessicas, based on Bendis’s positive remarks when he signed your jacket at Baltimore Comic-Con.

I agree with you that a humanizing Phoenix story would be great. I think the Phoenix has moved from its original, more humanized, origins and become a definitely alien thing in the current tales. I would love to see it subsumed by a human host, brought to work for a hero.

I love your Polaris idea! I, too, would like a, a third option out of the mutant-politics problem. I think that’s what Fraction’s going at, with Scott declaring that neither Magneto nor Xavier are fit to lead the current mutant population. But Scott is . . . Well, as Whedon has him say in Astonishing, he hasn’t looked anyone in the eye since he was a kid. Scott is a good strategist and tactician, but is that sufficient to lead? A leader needs a certain amount of charisma, and it remains to be seen whether Mr. Summers has that.

Polaris — daughter of Magneto, raised among humans, trained by Xavier, related by marriage to alien royalty, articulate and intelligent and attractive — she’d be great. If she had a message, and if she didn’t cut her own feet out from under herself.

Anika:

Yes, that’s why I mentioned Scott. I understand that is Fraction’s intention but even in comics, intent has to populate to the actual work before it really counts. And while the direction may be evident, it still feels like the same story in a shiny new package. I’d buy change more from an “outsider” like Polaris than I do Cyclops. Alternatively, I’m not opposed to her actually BEING the new Magneto, and leading a new Brotherhood. Or, imagine if Alex and Lorna led the new Brotherhood together and Scott and Emma (or Rachel!) led the new X-Men. Because I grant that there are editorial issues that Fraction, or any writer, has to deal with that limit what new directions can be taken. But a Summers Brothers ideological war that mirrors Xavier vs. Magneto but is the new generation — I would be very interested in reading that. And can, in fact, imagine all sorts of twists and turns before it becomes clear which side is really Xavier’s or Magneto’s.

So, now that I will be wholly unsatisfied with anything that does happen in my comics because all these awesome things won’t…well, let me take a moment to say that the reason I care at all is because of all the thought, work, and consideration so many creators, writers and artists, have put into these characters and stories over the years. I’ll keep reading, discussing, and imagining, as long as that continues.

So what about you? What plots or stories to you yearn to see from Marvel in the coming year?

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