Space Enough, and Time

A Short, Sweet Song for Endless Ages

Yesterday was one of those days where I was reminded that, in spite of your best efforts, your time is not your own. This song came to mind, and it turns out that Rich Mullins’ version of the song was recorded at a concert in Holland, which means there are fun subtitles. Oh that this would be “my song through endless ages.”

Spring Break by the Numbers

7 books started

5 books finished

1 book checked out of the state library

0 movies watched

2 new cast members on Community

2 groups calling themselves SHIELD

1 day lived twice on The Flash

7 potentially cancerous spots frozen by the dermatologist

2 visits to the dentist

1 wisdom tooth extracted

3 Kissaten waffles

2 Aloha crepes

1 Nutella and Pretzel milkshake from The Counter

1 pleasantly surprised customer upon finding RC Cola served at JJ Dolan’s

Ranking Ten Years of the Doctor

Hard to believe that even MTV has gotten on the “10 Years of New Who” train. Today’s tenth anniversary of the reintroduction of Doctor Who has had people ranking which episodes of the ten-year have been the best. You can read all of MTV’s ordering and commentary here. It’s odd, really, to see all of the episodes together in one place. It’s also a stark reminder of how many episodes I had totally forgotten about. The MTV ranking is interesting, of course, because of the placing of “Blink” at number 2 and “Midnight” in the top position.

The folks at Radio Times did a survey and get about 280,000 responses. You can check out that poll’s results below.

The biggest problem some fans have with “Blink” being in the top slot is the virtual absence of the Doctor in the episode. I like the episode (and truly believe that the Weeping Angels are amazingly creepy villains). A couple of observations: (1) it’s telling to me (and to so many others) that Steven Moffatt has such a presence on the list. The guy has written some brilliant stuff. The show has gotten frustrating over the years, but that’s why observation 2 is important because (2) it’s encouraging to see so many multi-part stories rank so well. For most of the last ten years, we’ve had to deal with “done-in-0ne” episodes with seasonal through-lines. Word is that this coming season of the show will feature mostly multi-part stories, which I think will be a nice change of pace.

My favorites from the last ten years? Hard to say. Lots of episodes have had great moments, but a good moment does not a great episode make. I’m a softy for episodes like “The Shakespeare Code” and “Turn Left.” I think “Vincent and the Doctor” is an amazing done-in-one with the kind of emotional punch you come to expect from Richard Curtis. I love all of Moffatt’s early two-parters and also fond of “The Girl in the Fireplace” (and liked the “shout out” to it this past season). I love the set-up of “The Eleventh Hour,” probably my favorite “first” episode. “Listen” was my favorite of this past season. But my all-time favorite from the last ten years? “The Day of the Doctor.” It was serious and hopeful and honoring of the past while also pointing to the future. Plus, it’s always great seeing the Doctor on the big screen.