Nerd Journal: TV Addiction Vengeance Is A Dish Best Served Cold

And as Khan did say, "It's very cold ... in SPACE." (How about in time, too?)

Remember when the Sibling played an important role in getting me addicted to "Supernatural"? Back then, I vowed vengeance. Oh, I did. To quote my own self, I said even then, "[I'm] determined to devise some kind of utterly unholy retaliation. I need some inspiration. Oh, yes. Ohhhhhh, yes."

Well, the "Supernatural" addiction has cooled off (thanks to a season that was far too short on fun and too long on windy dialogue), and I'm happily ensconced in the Whoniverse, even as the Sibling proceeded to make fun of that too. ("You David Tennant fangirl!") He seems to get a perverse kick out of seeing me, the famously cynical, sarcastic analyst of history and politics, be a fan of someone other than Shakespeare or Jane Austen or Reagan or Milton Friedman or Winston Churchill or whomever.

So I forced the Sib to sit down and actually WATCH some "Doctor Who" with Ten (Me: "OK, David Tennant may be cute, but he's also a great ACTOR." Sib: "Yeah, right, you FANGIRL.").

And I chose my episodes with care. This was the Netflix streaming playlist that I inflicted on him:

~"School Reunion," with the fun "Buffy" high school vibe AND guest star Anthony Stewart Head to piggyback on the Sibling's rabid Joss Whedon fandom. (See this too.)

~"Girl in the Fireplace." Beautiful girl (Sophia Myles) plus award-winning story and playing with history and the fragility of time. Plus one of the best scenes ever:

~The two-parter "Human Nature" and "Family of Blood." The nature of humanity, the meaning of sacrifice (not just for the Doctor, but for almost everybody).

~and, finally, the pièce de résistance, "Blink"! Gloriously creepy on the level of the fabulous "Buffy" episode "Hush." Plus, twisty-turny temporal mechanics, always sure to grab the Sib's attention.

All in all, a careful combination of action, humor, time, space, emotional registers, and narrative atmospheres.

The result? Did you ever doubt? MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, BABY.

The Sibling had to acknowledge the awesomeness of the show and of my Doctor ... as we had an entire discussion about time travel and narrative ... as he headed off to watch more episodes on his own. I'm thinking it'll be mere days before he gobbles up the entire seasons 2-4. Other episodes in the queue as the best examples of the show: "Silence in the Library," "Forest of the Dead," and "Utopia."

Oh, I'm good. (And that sounds like something the Doctor would say!)