Before I publish my first official Doctor Who rewatching post, I thought it might be a good idea to talk about some of the terminologies within Doctor Who. I remember attending my first convention in 2013 and not knowing what a Dalek was. I saw it zooming around the convention having no idea what it was from. Doctor Who references are everywhere at conventions and I figured this guide might be interesting for those who may have heard these terms mentioned, but not know exactly what they are.

The Doctor

The Doctor is the main character in Doctor Who. The Doctor is a timelord from the planet Gallifrey. The Doctor travels through space and time-solving problems or stopping an evil alien species. I think what’s interesting about The Doctor is that The Doctor doesn’t have a gender. The Doctor exists and it’s not illustrated whether The Doctor is a man or a woman. This might be an incorrect statement since I haven’t watched the old Doctor Who series, but I have always thought of The Doctor as someone who exists rather than being a certain gender.

The Doctor travels on a TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) which I will explain a little bit more in a bit. Biologically speaking, The Doctor has two hearts versus one and has superhuman stamina which allows The Doctor to explore different planets with a variety of different atmospheres.

Tardis

The TARDIS is the spaceship that The Doctor travels on. TARDIS is disguised as a blue telephone booth, so when it enters Earth’s atmosphere, it doesn’t look like a spaceship. The joke within the show is that it’s “bigger on the inside” meaning when companions see the TARDIS, they think it’s the size of the telephone booth when really there is a lot more room to move around. In Doctor Who merchandise, the TARDIS is featured quite a bit and I think is one of the main characteristics of the show.

Gallifrey

Gallifrey is The Doctor’s home planet. It’s hinted that there was a war and Gallifrey may have been destroyed. This war is known as the Time War. When Gallifrey is brought up on the show, it often gives a glimpse into The Doctor as having survived something that’s violent and the trauma that comes with that. The Time War is a war that’s between the Time Lords and the Daleks, one of The Doctor’s most fearsome foes.

Dalek

The Dalek is one of the most feared enemies in Doctor Who. It’s basically a robot with a toilet plunger as its eye. As a fun fact, the original Daleks were made of egg cartons and sink plungers. The Daleks come up a lot as each Doctor has had to confront the Dalek. While the Daleks seem a bit dorky, they are incredibly powerful. Their signature line is “Exterminate” as they say this every time they go to kill anything.

Companion

Companions are incredibly important in Doctor Who. The companions are humans, aliens, robots, or any other living being that travels with The Doctor. Each actor who has played The Doctor is often brought up based on the companions that they travel with. There’s Rose Tyler (played by Billie Piper) who traveled with the 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and the 10th Doctor (David Tennant). There’s Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Wiliams (Arthur Darvill) who traveled primarily with the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith). Companions help keep The Doctor company by bringing their natural intelligence to help save the day.

Regeneration

Whenever The Doctor is wounded or old, The Doctor regenerates. This is how it’s explained when new actors or actresses play the role of The Doctor. Out of all the franchises that exist, Doctor Who may be the only one that has a way to explain new people playing the role that’s canon in the fandom. I think it’s rather creative. It shows how The Doctor has existed in many lifetimes and how each lifetime has certain companions or memories associated.

When The Doctor regenerates, The Doctor usually glows as a yellow beam explodes out of their body and they take on a new appearance with the new actor.

History Behind Doctor Who

Doctor Who is listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest-running science fiction television show in the world. The original Doctor Who show aired in 1963 and continued until 1989. The show was relaunched in 2005 and has been airing new episodes along with the announcement of Ncuti Gatwa as the new Doctor. With a show running as long as Doctor Who has, there’s so much history to explore.

One of the scandals or mishaps in Doctor Who are the mystery of the missing episodes. It’s assumed these episodes were deleted, but the reasons aren’t confirmed. It could have been because of a lack of storage or a lack of broadcasting rights. No one knows where these episodes are and it leaves some series of Doctor Who as being incomplete. I remember hearing about the missing episodes at Convergence when I attended a Doctor Who-themed panel. It’s something that’s worth referencing in this “Doctor Who 101″ post as you might hear someone bring it up.

I hope this helps! You may hear these being brought up with Doctor Who fans and now you know where they come from or at least a little bit more about Doctor Who in general. I hope to have my first post up with the first series of Doctor Who before the end of the year.

I have been brainstorming an idea for a new blog prompt for Bizarre Brunette. I did write a James Bond blog prompt where I would rewatch all the Bond movies. The prompt fell apart when I got stuck watching the Sean Connery era. I thought about this and that’s when the idea came to me. I wanted to do a full rewatch of Doctor Who starting all the way back with Christopher Eccleston’s series which originally aired in 2005. Me and my husband are planning a trip to Europe next year and I recently found out that there’s a museum in London devoted to Doctor Who. It would be fun to do a full rewatch, so by the time that I go, I will have all of the Doctor Who lore fresh in my mind.

How will this prompt work? I decided that I think I will write a post anytime I finish a full series. Originally, I was thinking of a post per episode, but that seems exhausting. Once I finish a series, I’ll do a post recap of the series, the Doctor, a favorite companion or episode, and potentially even a favorite enemy. I’m still figuring out what I will recap or write about. My end goal is to get fully caught up, so I can start watching new episodes of Doctor Who when they air. I would love to rewatch old Who aka. the Doctor Who episodes before 2005, but that’s a huge goal and I may need a Doctor Who break once I’m done with my rewatch.

To help get into the mindset of rewatching Doctor Who, I wanted to share my Doctor Who origin story or how I became a Whovian. In 2014, I was looking for a new show to watch. I saw Doctor Who on Netflix and remembered seeing Doctor Who cosplays and content at Convergence. I started watching the show and my first thought was “this is kind of weird”. It didn’t stop me from finishing the episode and I ended up continuing throughout the series. I met my husband shortly after watching Doctor Who and I introduced him to the series. He started watching and since he finishes shows way faster than I do, he quickly got ahead of me.

While me and my husband watched Doctor Who, he bought a Tardis mug and in the mug, we came up with “date” ideas for when we wanted to do something but didn’t know what. Me and my husband stumbled upon this recently and saw a prompt, “go out for a drink (when legal)”. This was created before we were both 21 and me and my husband thought this was too cute. Doctor Who in a lot of ways reminds me of the beginning of my relationship with my husband. Our wedding dinner entrance was the Doctor Who theme song. Doctor Who in a lot of ways is so much more than a TV show. It’s a show that’s been with me through various portions of my life.

I’m excited to do a full rewatch. It’s about time since it’s been at least five years since I have watched an episode. Doctor Who will always have a special place in my heart. Allons-Y!

My friend reached out to me and asked me if I watched Ms. Marvel yet. I told her I haven’t as I’m a bit behind in my Marvel Disney+ TV series. She encouraged me to watch it because she felt it was her all-time favorite Marvel show. I had this on my list to watch down the road, but since she set such high expectations, I started watching the show right away. I adored Ms. Marvel and honestly, it might be up there with WandaVision as being the top Marvel TV show that I have watched.

Ms. Marvel is centered around Kamala Khan (played by Iman Vellani) who is an average teenager growing up in Jersey City. She’s a big Avengers fangirl and she tries to convince her parents to let her go to AvengerCon, a comic book convention for fans of the Avengers. She brings along her friend Bruno (played by Matt Lintz) to AvengerCon, so she doesn’t have to go by herself. As Kamala enters the Captain Marvel Cosplay Contest, she slips on a family heirloom that grants her powers. She accidentally destroys portions of the convention and flees. With Bruno’s help, she starts to get a handle on her powers while also understanding her family’s history.

I loved Kamala! I’m biased because I did read Ms. Marvel comics before watching the show. Kamala’s fandom is front and center which is a big part of her backstory. It’s not often that I watch a show and see a character on TV going to a comic book convention without it being a thing to make fun of. Ms. Marvel also highlights Kamala finding out about her family and why she has the powers that she does. I thought this story developed in a really interesting way. I also like Kamala’s friends. Ms. Marvel wouldn’t have come to be without Bruno. He’s the science best friend who helps Kamala. There’s Nakia (played by Yasmeen Fletcher) who Kamala encourages to run for a position on the mosque board. The three of them each have different qualities to them that work well together.

Similar to She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel received online hate when it was released on Disney+. I genuinely do not understand the hatred for this series. I think if I had to guess, it would come down to the target audience. Ms. Marvel is aimed at a younger audience, it’s not gritty like Moon Knight was. Some of the hate could come from those who didn’t like Captain Marvel which is silly because Ms. Marvel is a different story entirely. While I understand that not everyone will like the same things, I do find it obnoxious whenever I see positive comments about Ms. Marvel and there are Facebook reactions with the laughing face.

Ms. Marvel was so good! I’m contemplating rewatching the series again because that’s how much I liked the show. Ms. Marvel is available to stream on Disney+ and The Marvels is set to air in 2023.

I was scrolling through Facebook earlier this year and Bridgerton kept popping up on my feed. I would see video clips of the seasons along with cast interviews. There was so much hype around Bridgerton and it seemed like everyone loved this show. I was going through Netflix the other day looking for a new show to watch and guess what popped up. I’m not normally a fan of Victorian-era content, but I figured I’d watch one episode of Bridgerton to at least see what it’s all about. From watching that first episode, I was enthralled by the series. Bridgerton is so good and I cannot wait for season #3.

Bridgerton takes place in the 1800s and centers around various famous and rich families. Each season centers around one member of the family and finding love in the London social scene. In season #1, the story centers around Daphne Bridgerton (played by Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon (played by Regé-Jean Page). In season #2, the story centers around Daphne’s older brother; Anthony (played by Jonathan Bailey), and Kate Sharma (played by Simone Ashley). In between all the romance and the balls, there’s a gossip column published by Lady Whistledown who repeats the gossip she hears in a pamphlet. This is where the Gossip Girl comparison comes in. The voice of Lady Whistledown is Julie Andrews who has the most lovely and soothing voice which adds to the mystery of Lady Whistledown and her identity.

While the romances are the main draw of the show, I personally find it more interesting to keep track of the side characters. There is Eloise Bridgerton (played by Claudia Jessie). Eloise is shortly coming of age, but she clearly pushes back on what is expected of her. She’s a voracious reader and wants someone to have an intellectual conversation with. She has no interest in holding down a household and I find that Eloise gets more character growth in the second season. Besides Eloise, there’s Penelope Featherington (played by Nicola Coughlan) Penelope is one of Eloise’s best friends and there’s a lot more to her than what is initially revealed. The third season of Bridgerton will focus on Penelope finding love. Throughout the series, Penelope was infatuated with Colin Bridgerton (played by Luke Newton) Anthony’s younger brother. I hope Penelope’s romance is with someone else because, towards the end of season #2, Colin makes some cruel comments about Penelope which she overhears. I can’t see the two of them romantically linked and Penelope deserves someone who authentically loves every part of her.

Speaking of the romances, I think I enjoyed watching season #2 more. While Daphne and Simon’s romance had a lot of chemistry, I liked how Kate challenged Anthony. It felt more like a tug of war between the two of them which was more satisfying when they finally linked together. Kate and Anthony were couple goals and I’m looking forward to Penelope’s season.

I did not think that I would like Bridgerton as much as I did. Bridgerton is available to stream on Netflix and season #3 hasn’t been given a release date thus far.

My husband and I go see every DC film as soon as it’s released in theaters. I have always been a devoted DC fan even though DC has had quite a few hiccups in creating its own cinematic universe. As far as Black Adam, I completely forgot that this movie was being released this year. For what it’s worth, Black Adam was an enjoyable film, however, I think it emphasizes one of DC’s greatest weaknesses in the way they make their films.

Black Adam opens in ancient times when a civilization attempts to overthrow a tyrannical king. A boy leading the rebellion gets transported to a secretive place where he gains powers. In the present day, archaeologist Adrianna Tomaz (played by Sarah Shahi) leads a team to a mountain searching for the Crown of Sabbac. As her team is ambushed by a rival group, Adrianna whispers a phrase that coincidentally released Black Adam (played by Dwayne Johnson). Black Adam has been imprisoned for some time and is worshipped by the city as a hero. Meanwhile, Amanda Waller (played by Viola Davis) calls in on the Justice Society to stop Black Adam. Hawkman (played by Aldis Hodge), Doctor Fate (played by Pierce Brosnan), Cyclone (played by Quintessa Swindell), and Atom Smasher (played by Noah Centineo) come together to capture Black Adam before he does too much damage.

The film itself was fun to watch. I felt myself coasting throughout the film and not getting bored in the slightest. I think Dwayne Johnson was a perfect cast as he fully embodies Black Adam as a character. I loved seeing Amanda Waller / Viola Davis in this as it helps build this cohesiveness that DC is missing. I was a huge fan of Doctor Fate as I thought he brought reason to the group and helped the group see that there may be another option instead of solely bringing Black Adam to prison. It seemed like Cyclone and Atom Smasher had good chemistry together. Each character served a purpose in this team and I liked watching them come together.

The one flaw in Black Adam and in DC’s movies is being able to bring these characters to life for everyone. I think DC in a lot of ways makes their films assuming that people will know who these characters are. If I were to bring my friend to see this movie with me, she probably wouldn’t be able to fully invest in the story because there wasn’t any backstory brought to the characters. It wasn’t discussed how Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Cyclone, and Atom Smasher came to be. There were a few conversations in passing where Atom Smasher talks to his uncle who used to have the suit or how Cyclone was experimented on. I would have liked to see more backstories or flashback scenes of pivotal moments in their lives. Marvel on the other hand is excellent at this. They build these characters into their own solo movies, so fans start to connect with them. I don’t think the characters in Black Adam are on that level because they weren’t introduced in other live-action films. DC should make these movies that appeal to both fans of the comics and fans of superhero content who may not read comics on a regular basis.

Black Adam by DC film standards was a fantastic film. I’m partial to Doctor Fate as there’s a lot of comic book crossover between Doctor Fate and another favorite character of mine, Zatanna. If you see Black Adam, make sure you stay for the extra credit scene, you won’t want to miss it!

Spoilers for Campaign #3 of Critical Role

I have talked about Critical Role many times and I plan to keep doing so. I have been watching both Campaign #3 Bells Hells along with Campaign #1 Vox Machina simultaneously as I hope to eventually be fully caught up on all things Critical Role. Campaign #3 has been having a major moment and the fate of one major character is unknown. I wanted to talk about Laudna (played and voiced by Marisha Ray) and her fate.

Spoilers for Campaign #3 of Critical Role Ahead

Before I talk about the episode, I wanted to talk a little bit about Dungeons & Dragons mechanics, so summarizing a moment in Critical Role, it will make more sense. In Dungeons & Dragons, when a character loses all of their hit points (or health points if you will) they go “unconscious” If the player isn’t healed, they roll a death saving throw which is completed by rolling a 20-sided die. Rolling a 1-10 counts as a failure while rolling an 11-20 is a success. If a player rolls a 1, they get two failed death-saving throws in one roll. With three death-saving throws accrued, a character dies.

In episode #34 of Campaign #3, Fearne (played by Ashley Johnson) and Orym (played by Liam O’Brien) are dead as they were killed in battle. Fresh Cut Grass (played by Sam Riegel) had a spell that he used to bring back Fearne and once Fearne was alive, Fearne would bring back Orym using a similar spell. Before all of this happened, Laudna was down and had to roll death saves. Unfortunately, Marisha had a failed death save already, and ended up rolling a natural 1 meaning her character, Laudna dies. Once Fearne was brought back to life, she had to pick which character to save: Laudna or Orym. Fearne picked Orym and Laudna permanently died. I’m probably not doing the best job at explaining this, but the whole cast was emotional. As I was listening to this episode, I also became a little emotional too.

I mentioned it multiple times before, but I’m playing in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign that occurs every other Thursday. When I created my character, Laudna was a big inspiration for me. To see that Laudna may be permanently dead was gut-wrenching as she was one of my favorite characters throughout this campaign. I’m bummed because I like the other characters, but Laudna was special to me.

Character death can happen in Dungeons & Dragons. It doesn’t make me want to stop watching Critical Role by any means, but as mentioned, I’m a little bummed that one of my favorite characters isn’t going to appear anymore. There’s a part of me that is holding out for Laudna to come back, but it’s not likely. If you’re watching Critical Role, let me know in the comments how this felt for you or who your favorite character is in Campaign #3.

I love reading comics which shouldn’t be a surprise considering what I write on BizarreBrunette. I wrote about She-Hulk last weekend and when I mention the negative reviews, another theme that I’m seeing is people who feel that there’s too much superhero content specifically Marvel releasing their shows on Disney+ I wanted to dive into this as I think it’s an interesting topic to address.

Personally, I’m all for the Marvel, DC, or comics-related movies or TV series. I like living in an era where we are seeing beloved characters and their stories being adapted. As a DC Comics fan, I never thought I would see Doctor Fate in a live-action movie especially when Doctor Fate is being played by Pierce Brosnan. I’m also excited for Captain America New World Order coming out in 2024, The Marvels coming out in 2023, and Thunderbolts coming out in 2024. I want to see more Bucky Barnes (played by Sebastian Stan) appearances throughout the Marvel universe. I’m also curious if Joaquin Torres (played by Danny Ramirez) will have a bigger role in Captain America New World Order.

I can understand if someone isn’t a big comics or superhero fan, I can see where this is a lot of content to keep up with. It seems like there is always something new coming out and it’s easy to get behind on watching every movie or TV series. I think it’s normal to feel some sort of fatigue. While I am a big fan of superhero content, I do sometimes have to take a break and watch a completely unrelated movie or TV series, so I can dive back in when I’m ready.

As mentioned, I’m all for the superhero content. It’s been awesome to see comics so heavily represented and I enjoy hearing about people who are getting into comics for the first time. I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments; do you feel that there is too much? just enough? or what would you like to see be adapted if it’s not already?

She–Hulk: Attorney at Law has been getting a lot of hate online. Currently, the show is listed with an average 2.2-star rating on Google. I don’t know much about She-Hulk as a character, so I’m not exactly sure how comic book accurate the TV series is. After watching all episodes on Disney+, I think She-Hulk isn’t as bad as everyone says it is. It’s not my all-time favorite Marvel series, but I think it’s a fun show to watch as long as you don’t go into it trying to nitpick every scene.

She-Hulk stars Jennifer Walters (played by Tatiana Maslany) as she navigates her stressful job as an attorney. In an unfortunate accident, she is exposed to Bruce Banner’s (played by Mark Ruffalo) blood. As such, she transforms into She-Hulk. Unlike the Hulk, She-Hulk retains her identity and controls her transformation at will. She tries to return to her regular life, but it’s quickly revealed that she has powers. Now that her powers are known, Jennifer is struggling to find anonymity and protect her privacy.

As mentioned, I don’t think She-Hulk is a bad show. I like all the guest appearances from Wong (played by Benedict Wong), Bruce, and Abomination (played by Tim Roth) who was in Edward Norton’s The Incredible Hulk movie back in 2008. I watched the latest episode which features Madisynn King (played by Patty Guggenheim) and she’s a funny addition to the series.

When I read about She-Hulk and hate online, I usually see two types of arguments. The first is the idea that the series hates men. There’s a scene from episode #1 when Bruce and Jennifer are talking about anger and being in control. Jennifer makes a comment somewhere along the lines of how being a woman in the world always prompts anger and fear. When I watched this episode, it didn’t pull me out of the watching experience as I didn’t think this comment was out of line. I think this was added because Jennifer is a lawyer and one of her co-workers is sexist which is why Jennifer would think this. To me, it didn’t feel out of place.

The second argument I see online is bashing Megan Thee Stallion’s guest appearance. If you watch the episode, everything makes sense. Jennifer’s co-worker, Dennis Bukowski (played by Drew Matthews) is fooled into thinking he’s dating Megan The Stallion when really it was a shape-shifting elf from New Asgard. In one of the after-credits scenes, Megan Thee Stallion is showing Jennifer how to twerk. I’m not following the backlash, I think the after-credits scene is entertaining. It’s supposed to be fun and lighthearted. If I had to guess, I think viewers were looking for a more serious She-Hulk series whereas this series is more about Jennifer having fun with her powers and how they mix with her life as a lawyer along with being single and dating.

Honestly, I like She-Hulk. I’m curious to see how the show will play out especially with a potential cameo from Daredevil.

Rogue One is easily in my top three favorite Star Wars movies. When it was announced that Cassian Andor (played by Diego Luna) was getting his own series, I was ecstatic! Cassian was a character that I wanted to learn more about as it’s clear that his character was pulled into this war at a young age. I wanted to talk about the series especially since the first episode is airing next month.

Andor was co-written by Tony Gilroy who wrote the screenplays for The Bourne Franchise. I think this was an excellent choice as Cassian is a spy. In Rogue One, he helps Jyn infiltrate Scarif to steal the Deathstar plans. Cassian’s character is about being unseen and fitting in to achieve a goal. I’m curious as to whether this series will feel like a Star Wars series or if this will feel like a spy series set in the Star Wars lore. I’m hoping it’s the latter as I think it will be more fitting for Cassian.

Diego Luna is set to star as Cassian along with Forest Whitaker returning as the infamous Saw Gerrera. The cast of Andor also includes Fiona Shaw, Stellan Skarsgård, and Genevieve O’Reilly who’s returning as Mon Mothma. I’m a big fan of Fiona Shaw as I think she’s talented in any project she’s a part of.

Before writing this post, I watched the trailer. The trailer does an excellent job at revealing portions of the series without the plot. I have an idea as to the aesthetic the show is going for, but no idea as to what will happen. I do feel that some trailers reveal too much at times, and Andor is an example of how to create a trailer without spoiling major plot details.

I’m so excited for this series to air! I wouldn’t be surprised if I stayed up late watching the first episode because I’m not going to let the internet spoil this for me.

CW: cancer, cancer storylines, and chemotherapy.

I went to see Thor Love & Thunder with a friend of mine a month ago. While Thor is the main character, I really was there to see Valkyrie and Jane Foster’s return to the Marvel franchise. After the movie was released, I was browsing the internet and I read an interesting article. The article was referring to Thor Love & Thunder and whether it should have included content warnings for viewers. If you couldn’t tell from the content warning I posted earlier, the content warning that viewers were asking for was regarding cancer, cancer diagnosis, and chemotherapy.

In Thor Love & Thunder, it’s revealed that Jane was diagnosed with cancer and her outcome was grim. She seeks out Mjölnir (Thor’s old Hammer) to see if this type of magic could help cure her. When Jane connects with Mjölnir, she’s given powers related to Thor, however, it’s at a cost. While Jane is Thor, her body is suppressed to fight cancer. For many viewers, they would have liked a heads up that this was a storyline happening in this movie.

I have never been diagnosed with cancer, so this isn’t a lived experience I’m able to speak to. However, I have had a loved one pass away from cancer, so I can at least relate to that aspect of this conversation. I personally didn’t have a problem watching this film. I’m sensing that there might be someone reading this who would think “people should stop being so sensitive”. I don’t see content warnings as being too sensitive. It’s simply saying that “this media contains x,y,z. If that’s something you want to avoid, don’t watch this film, TV show, etc.” The way that anyone handles trauma is so varied. I can see why others would have appreciated the heads up as Jane’s backstory includes her cancer diagnosis.

I will say that Jane’s cancer is a storyline in the comics, so it can be argued that this is comic book accurate. Some fans aren’t thrilled with the idea of bringing Jane back, giving her a cancer diagnosis, she gets powers and ultimately ends up dying in the end. I’m not sure how I feel about it as I go back and forth.

Anyway, I thought this was an interesting article and conversation to write about. I would be curious as to your thoughts. Should Thor Love & Thunder have included a content warning? or is cancer so common that it isn’t worth it to include it?