Homework From The Vortex…

Okay, as mentioned in this week’s show, here’s the update on your homework assignments if you’d like to follow along…

On 4/20 we’ll finish up the remaining 5 parts (6-10) of “The War Games” with second Doctor Patrick Troughton on Friday Night Who.  We push play at midnight if you’d like to join us…

We’ll spend episode #69 covering the epic “The War Games”.

Friday Night Who on 4/27 will see us jump forward to Peter Davison’s fifth Doctor era for “Arc Of Infinity”.

And show number #70 will cover “Arc Of Infinity” and Big Finish #47 “Omega”.

On 5/4 our Friday Night Who will feature sixth Doctor, Colin Baker in “The Mark Of The Rani”

Here’s a milestone to set your clocks for, TTV #71 will be our reviews of series 2 of The Sarah Jane Adventures.  This means you have 3 weeks to watch them!

FNW on 5/11 features seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy in “Time And The Rani”

Episode #72 will be an Adversary Archive on The Rani, including our reviews of “Mark Of The Rani” and “Time And The Rani”

On 5/18 we’ll start the Dalek War box set on Friday Night Who with “Frontier In Space” staring third Doctor Jon Pertwee.

And Traveling The Vortex episode #73 brings all of the previous week’s villains back for an encore discussion of Rogues And Renegades in our Adversary Archive.

FNW 5/25 will be the second part of the Dalek War box, “Planet Of The Daleks” also featuring Jon Pertwee

Daleks on Friday Night Who?  That can mean only one thing! Episode #74, Adversary Archive: The Daleks IV! Covering “Frontier In Space”, “Planet Of The Daleks”, and Big Finish #7 “The Genocide Machine (Dalek Empire 1)”

and on the horizon?  All things Shada…

Movie Review – The Hunger Games

THE HUNGER GAMES, from the dystopian novel by Susanne Collins is a surprisingly faithful adaptation of the book.  Yes, there were things changed, but that’s the standard with ANY adaptation of the written word.  There simply isn’t enough room to get it all in.  In the land of Panem, a failed revolt by the 13 districts against the capitol 74 years ago resulted in the creation of The Hunger Games, an annual battle royal where each district is forced to hold a lottery and send one boy and girl to fight to the death in the arena.  Katniss Everdeen takes the place of her younger sister Prim who was chosen as the district 12 tribute and must fight her place.

The books are an amazing read, and deal with subject matter far beyond their “young adult” tag.  If you’re expecting Twilight, keep looking.  This is a far better written and entertaining series.  The movie follows suit, cramming a lot of information into it’s nearly 2 and a half hour running time, but entertains first and foremost.  If you’ve read the books (which I highly recommend on their value alone) I don’t believe you’ll be dissapointed.  If you’ve never read the books, You can certainly jump into the film without worry of missing anything, (though the ride is MUCH more enjoyable with that backstory).

An outstanding cast brings wonderful characters to life, including Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, and Lenny Kravitz.  Of particular stand out is Donald Sutherland as President Snow, who manages to govern Panem with fear and intimidation and keeps the nation in a stranglehold under the Capitol, and gives his portrayal of President Snow as almost frail, and yet utterly ruthless.  Also in fantastic if supporting roles are the Dream Lord himself, Toby Jones, and Stanley Tucci as Caesar.

Once the games begin, they unfold like a teenage version of Survivor as they battle the elements and each other.  And this part of the film is outstandingly well made, it looks like a documentary crew was turned loose in the middle of a war zone.  Unfortunately it matches the first half of the film.  Director Gary Ross uses a lot of shaky cam to drive home drama, and in the first half of the film, it’s totally not necessary.  In fact, it detracts from the rising climax of the end of the movie.  I also wish that Haymitch and Cinna had been given more to do, as they are two of my favorite characters in the novel.  It may not be the breakout film the media have built it into, but these are all small complaints in an overall well made film.  It’s entertaining and certainly lays the groundwork for the two sequels to follow.  May the odds be ever in your favor…

The Hunger Games – A

Movie Review – Puss In Boots

As the SHREK movies plodded on, they got more and more standardized and less and less funny.  One of the few character standouts was the Antonio Banderas voiced Puss in Boots.  Surely, someone would realize the genius of this paring, as Banderas was BORN to voice roles like this, and give him his own movie…

The adage “be careful what you wish for, you just might get it” has never been more apt than it is here.  The idea of giving Puss his own movie is genius, the actualization fails somewhat in execution.  A backstory dealing with his troubled youth and the poor influence of Humpty Dumpty (voiced by a surprisingly flat and low key Zach Galifianakas) and a quest for fabled magic beans should be a fun romp.

Unfortunately, it isn’t.  The jokes fall flat, the anthropomorphized animals are beyond anything we’ve seen so far in the Shrek universe, and the plot feels like a forced attempt to squeeze in a few storybook characters that have been left out of the adventures so far.  Admittedly, there was a fairly awesome joke that almost sailed over my head in regards to the identity of the final baddie.  When I got it, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to laugh or groan.  I won’t spoil it just incase someone wants to watch, but I can’t say I recommend it….

Puss In Boots – C

Episode 67 – Fish Fingers, Custard, and a Panda Bear in a Chair

In this week’s episode of Traveling the Vortex, we start our ongoing Adversary Archive on The Renegades. We start off this time with a look at The Meddling Monk in the First Doctor adventure, The Time Meddler.

Also, our review of the first outing for Big Finish in it’s Doctor Who main line adventures, The Sirens of Time.

Plus, the BIG news of the week was the leak of a MAJOR spoiler from the shooting set of the Seventh Series. Don’t worry, we won’t spoil anything for you, we talk about outlets being responsible when it comes to spoilers leading up to Fall.

Oh, and of course, your feedback!

Enjoy!

Links mentioned in the show:

One Kansas Author – Robert Collins’ blog
The Preachrs Podcast

Fish Fingers and Custard

Today (well yesterday as I post this) is Fish Fingers and Custard Day. That’s right, the BBC officially decreed April 3 “Fish Fingers and Custard Day” in commemoration of the Eleventh Doctor’s debut episode, “The Eleventh Hour,” which was two years ago today.

The Beeb also encouraged people to try the conglomeration of two flavors for themselves, and post their experiences online. So, I thought I’d try it and share my results with our listeners.

First of all, it is nearly impossible to find custard in a prepackaged form, anywhere in Topeka. After three different stores, a kind lady at the Dillon’s store found that “flan” which is a dessert featured in many Latin American countries is actually custard that is sometimes topped with a sauce like caramel or a fruit. We found a box in the “imports” section under the brand name Royal.

Realizing that I wasn’t going to find any “ready made” products here, I quickly went to work preparing the custard on the stovetop.

Following the directions on the box, the process was fairly simple. I had never had custard before let alone preparing it, so I was glad for its ease in making.

I found, however, that after letting the custard set up in the refrigerator made it much more solid than what Amelia and The Doctor make in the episode, so I had to bring it back to room temperature for a runnier consistency, to allow for easy dipping of the “fish finger”

By the way, fish fingers are called “fish sticks” in America.

I was a bit nervous when it was nearing time for the taste test. For one, I had never tried custard before (besides the frozen kind) and I have never been a fan of mixing savory and sweet.

Finally I sat down to my challenge and…

I have to say, I LOVED IT! I am not making this up just because I am a Doctor Who fan and feel some necessity to enjoy something for sheer fandom. I actually liked it. The two flavors really complement each other well.

So, I say give it a try you may like it. And now I can say that I share something in common with the Eleventh Doctor. Our love of fish fingers and custard.

Oh, and don’t worry. i made enough custard for the guys to try when we record next week’s show.

~Glenn

Episode 66 – Get Your Kicks

On this week’s episode of Traveling the Vortex we have a special treat for our listeners. This week we have an interview with Simon Fisher-Becker who plays Dorium Maldovar in the stories The Pandorica Opens, A Good Man Goes to War and then again in The Wedding of River Song.

Also, this is our second Companion Archive in which we take a look at two Leela stories, The Face of Evil and Robots of Death.

Plus our reaction to the Series 7 trailer, the latest news, and of course, your feedback.

Enjoy!

Whovians of Wichita

Simon Fisher-Becker Website

 

Episode 65 – Planet Comicon

This week we postpone our Companion archive of Fourth Doctor traveling associate, Leela in lieu of some coverage of this weekends Kansas City Planet Comicon, which the three of us attended.

We’ll talk about our experiences at the con including the special meet up with other fans from the area who also love Doctor Who. And our own Keith, dressed as the 11th Doctor for the program. We’ll tell you about his experiences at this year’s convention as well.

Also, we’re talking new companion, and a little on the Official Doctor Who Convention that went on in the U.K on Saturday and Sunday.

Oh, and of course, your feedback.

Enjoy!

Planet Comicon
Official Doctor Who Convention
Slugcast
Kansas City Time Lord Society