Television Zombies at the End of Time

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You'd think they'd have learned better, but no, Jeff, Chris, Tina and Chuck invited me back to talk about "The End of Time" on the upcoming Television Zombies podcast (#112, coming soon). (More sensibly, they asked Ross and James from Creeping With Armstrong back as well.) Here's a taste: plot summary a la Chip.

2MTL 95: On Tennant "Fangirls" and Boys' Clubs

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"The End of Time" was long on Tennant, and very short on Smith. This didn't give Smith much time to make an impression on those viewers who followed Doctor Who less than they followed Tennant himself. The Kasterborous website had a message for them.

2MTL 94: "Triumph of a Time Lord" TIME DILATION Interview with Dr. Matt Hills

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We feature an extended, "Time Dilation" interview with Dr. Matt Hills of Cardiff University, whose book "Triumph of a Time Lord: Regenerating 'Doctor Who' in the Twenty-first Century" brings the worlds of academia and fandom together.

1:00 What kind of book is Triumph of a Time Lord?
3:10 The relationship between fans and producers
5:30 Fan antagonism?
7:54 Reformatting the show for the 2000s; will Moffat change it?
10:27 Does the new series lend itself to academic study more than the classic?
11:45 Is Doctor Who "mainstream," "cult," or both?
14:05 A fandom obsessed with ratings and AI numbers
15:33 Academically studying the things you love as a fan
18:13 Should fans give media studies a whirl?

"Fan" me on Facebook, or send me a message on Twitter with the #iwantthebook hashtag, and you'll be entered into a drawing for a free copy of the book!

2MTL 93: An Academic Fan in Cardiff

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Meet Dr. Matt Hills, senior lecturer in media and cultural studies at Cardiff University, whose book Triumph of a Time Lord: Regenerating "Doctor Who" in the Twenty-first Century is hot off the presses. We talk about what it's like to be a fan and academic when the subject of both is filming right down the street — and then we'll come back next time for an extended Time Dilation interview about the relationship between fans and producers, the reinvented format of the show, and what it means to be "cult" and "mainstream" at the same time. You could even win your own copy!

2MTL 92: "I Don't Want to Go" – The End of Time, Part Two

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The end of an era, considered.

Works cited:

2MTL 91: Make Someone Mad, Mr. Moffat!

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I genuinely believe that it will be a good sign for Doctor Who if Steven Moffat's reign is wildly popular AND manages to really upset some folks. Just like Russell T. Davies's reign.

(Not that I want to be upset, nor do I want you to be upset! Oh, just give a listen….)

A Note About BBC America's Poorly-timed Ad

Twice during the latter half of "The End of Time, Part 1," BBC America ran an advertisement for Part 2. And even though there were a lot of rapid-fire images that would have soared over the head of a casual viewer, at least one major plot development was spoiled to observant or long-time fans. Bad move, to be sure, and I grumped about it just now in 2MTL #90.

BBC America had to run some kind of ad for Part 2 during Part 1; it airs at a different time next week, and casual viewers need to know when to find it. It obviously should have been a spoiler-free version for during the show.

Keep in mind a couple of things, however. First of all, the million or so people who watched "The Waters of Mars" last week, most of whom likely came over to see EoTP1, are on the whole more casual viewers than your average Twitter-consuming Doctor Who fan. They might have missed the significance of the images completely. Also, even a niche channel like BBC America has an audience that dwarfs the number of fans who might acquire episodes through illegal downloads. At most, a statistically significant number of viewers might consider waiting a second day to grab the unedited, without-commercials iTunes version.

It's a blunder, but there have been worse.

2MTL 90: (SPOILERS) "The End of Time, Part One" Reviewed

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And lo, the universe spake, and it said, "I loved it," "I hated it," and "I have no idea what just happened." And the host of the Two-minute Time Lord Podcast beheld "The End of Time, Part One," and chose two of the three.