Wednesday 29 June 2011

The Silence



They've been here since fire and the wheel. But they're not human. No, these are aliens I'm talking about. Called simply the Silence, these creatures only remain in your mind while you're looking at them. As soon as you turn your back or even look away, they erase themselves from your memory, as well as, over time, electronic recordings. So don't be surprised if this post randomly vanishes.



Appearing as tall humanoids with bulbous heads, their eyes are set deep in their head, giving them a skull-like appearance. They act as parasites, having other beings build things for them through something similar to post-hypnotic suggestion. It was the Silence that took over the TARDIS, forcing it to explode throughout all of time and space on June 26, 2010, causing the end of the universe. The Doctor was able to reboot the universe, and was saved by Amelia Pond's memories, but that's another story (The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang).



It was the Silence who arranged the moon landing in 1969, for what reason is not clear. The Doctor arrived at their secret base, where they were holding Amy Pond, and sets up a television in time to see the "One small step" speech. He hacked into the signal just as Neil Armstrong's foot touched the surface surface of the moon. The image turned to a video shot by Canton Everett Delaware III of the Silence saying 'you should kill us all on sight". By doing so, the Silence have planted the post-hypnotic suggestion in everyone on Earth, as it is the most famous television broadcast in history. 


"You should kill us all on sight."
But there are still unanswered questions about the Silence.
Why did they force the TARDIS to explode? Why did they put the cracks in the fabric of the universe? Why did they imprison the little girl in the space suit, and who is she? We can only wait and see.
But wait--what's that in the corner of your eye? What are those tally marks covering your arms?

Monday 27 June 2011

Doctor Who Hidden Messages: Mystery Solved (late post)

This is a bit late, as this was revealed several weeks ago. Instead of tying into Series Six or Seven, the hidden messages that have appeared on the Doctor Who website have led to an interactive Doctor Who show for ages 6-12 called Crash of the Elysium.


Here is the website. I was expecting the messages to be some sort of hidden clue about a later episode or series, not this. Sadly, this means it's not a clue that the Weeping Angels might come back...

Saturday 25 June 2011

Blog Name Change

Seeing as I write primarily Doctor Who related posts, a name change was in order. My blog is now A Time Traveler's Guide to the Universe (Yes, this is a play on The Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy). The new URL is http://travelersguidetotheuniverse.blogspot.com/

Monday 13 June 2011

Doctor Who: A Good Man Goes to War

[EXTREME SPOILERS FOR A GOOD MAN GOES TO WAR FOLLOW!!! CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!]
Demons run when a good man goes to war
Night will fall and drown the sun
When a good man goes to war
Friendship dies and true love lies
Night will fall and the dark will rise
When a good man goes to war
Demons run, but count the cost
The battle's won, but the child is lost,
When a good man goes to war.
On Saturday, the conclusion to the spring half of series six aired. It was absolutely amazing, without a single dull moment. The official synopsis: 

Amy Pond has been kidnapped and the Doctor is raising an army to rescue her as the drama continues. Yet as he and Rory race across galaxies, calling in long-held debts and solemnly given promises, his enemies are laying a carefully concealed trap. In her cell in Stormcage, River Song sadly acknowledges that the time has come at last – today will mark the Battle of Demon's Run and the Doctor’s darkest hour. Both sides will make their sacrifices and River Song must finally reveal her most closely guarded secret to the Doctor. 

The Doctor finds out who River is
One of the most anticipated question of the series (for me, anyway) was answered in this episode. But before I tell, I'll go more in depth into the episode, answering a few other questions. The first--Madame Kovarian.

Madame Kovarian with two soldiers
 A quick review--Madame Kovarian, or the eye-patch lady, has been appearing to Amy throughout series 6, in windows that disappear. In The Almost People, she was revealed to be the architect of the operation that replaced Amy with a Ganger. She also replaced Melody Pond (Amy and Rory's daughter) with a Ganger, deactivating it at the end of the episode. As the saying that goes with Demon's Run says, The battle's won, but the child is lost. 

The second answered question--Amy's pregnancy (partially answered in the previous episode, see above link). Melody Pond is born on Demon's Run, an asteroid base where the Anglican Marines waited for the Doctor to come to rescue Amy. 

Melody Pond
On Demon's Run, Madame Kovarian and the others were running scans on Melody, and it was discovered she wasn't entirely human. There was a bit of something else in her DNA--specifically Time Lord. The Doctor revealed the Time Lords became what they were because of exposure to the time vortex. Vastra, a Silurian allied with the Doctor, Vastra deduces that Amy's kidnappers might have wanted Melody, as a part Time Lord, for a weapon.

Finally, the identity of River Song....


A young soldier, Lorna, who had met the Doctor when she was a child made Amy a prayer leaf, a cloth symbol that her child would always come home to them as is the custom of her people, the people of the Gamma Forest, from which Lorna came. On this leaf was embroidered the name of Amy's daughter in the language of the Gamma Forest. 
{EXTREME SPOILERS FOLLOW!!!!!!}



Then, River Song came just after Melody was revealed to be the Flesh, and after revealing who she was without words to the Doctor, he left to search for Melody. The TARDIS translated the prayer leaf. The name of Amy's daughter is Melody Pond. But the only water in the forest is the river. The cloth read River Song. 

River's identity is revealed
River Song is Melody Pond. River is Amy and Rory's daughter. 

Doctor Who will return in Autumn with Let's Kill Hitler.

River Song [Giving Amy the prayer leaf from the cradle]: It's your daughter's name, in the language of the forest.
Amy Pond: I know my daughter's name.
River Song: Except they don’t have a word for pond, because the only water in the forest is the river. The Doctor will find your daughter, and he will care for her, whatever it takes, and I know that. [Slowly, the writing on the prayer leaf is translated into English, revealing the chlid's name: River Song.] It’s me. I’m Melody. I’m your daughter.

Sunday 5 June 2011

Doctor Who: The Almost People

The latest episode of Doctor Who aired yesterday, and it was AMAZING!!!

Here's the official synopsis:
As the solar storm rages, Jennifer, a Ganger driven mad by the memories of being “decommissioned”, is seeking revenge, as the time-travelling drama continues.
She can remember every excruciating second of every “execution” and is determined that the humans will pay. And she isn’t just talking war; she’s talking revolution. As the crumbling factory fills with toxic fumes and drips lethal acid, the “Originals” wait desperately for the shuttle from the Mainland to rescue them. But Jennifer has other ideas. Can the Doctor convince the terrified factory workers to embrace their own humanity and work together with their Gangers to overcome a monster of their own making?

The Gangers rally together
The cliff-hanger was stunning, making the wait for the following episode--the last episode of the spring section of series six, I might add--even more anticipated.

[EXTREME SPOILERS FOLLOW!!!! CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!!!!!!]

Amy was a Ganger, and has been for a very long time. When back in the TARDIS, Amy begins having contractions, and the Doctor sonics her. She dissolves into the flesh, and the real Amy wakes up--in a hospital about to give birth, with the eye-patch lady as midwife. 
 
Amy: Doctor I am frightened. I'm properly, properly scared.
The Doctor: Don't be, hold on. We're coming for you, I swear. Whatever happens, however hard, however far, we will find you.
Amy: I'm right here.
The Doctor: No you're not. You haven't been here for a long long time.
Amy: Oh no. {he melts her into the flesh}.
 
It's my suspicion that the Ganger Amy replaced the real one sometime in the three month gap between The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon. 

Anyway, it was funny having two identical Doctors finishing each other's sentences. 
 
The two Doctors
The Doctor Ganger: Oh, there's always some power floating around—
The Doctor: Sticking to the wires, like bits of lint.
Amy: Could you stop finishing each other's—
The Doctor: Sentences?
The Doctor Ganger: No promises.
 
Next week we find out who River Song is....