AllThingsAnglophile

In a word it was terrible. Everything that RTD generally gets wrong was done wrong here. In fact I think this is the worst episode of New Who I've seen since Donna and the Adipose at the beginning of season four. Actually. No. Fuck it. This is the worst episode of New Who yet. And that's really saying something- hello Shirley Henderson episode.
 
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*Note to self, learn from this Christmas special. Make sure that when you edit you're novel, you don't make the same mistakes as Russel.

When writing,

1. Have consistent character development. If you're character seems to be acting in a way that is at odds with the rest of the book, it dosen't work.
 
2. Don't be afraid to kill characters off or have some sad endings. Don't bring characters back to life because you suddenly think they'd make a good foil for X or because you think everyone loves happy endings. They don't. I know because I'm one of the ones who likes them sad and bittersweet.

3. Don't have all of the action happen all at once only to be resolved in a couple of pages. If this happens it probably means that the rest of your novel is full of filler. If it dosen't relate to a part of the plot, delete it.

4. Don't leave things unanswered unless there is PURPOSE in leaving things unanswered.

5. It is OK to have moral grey areas.
 
6. Have a story and stick with it. None of this one second its for kids, the next for adults, the next for teens. Don't write for the biggest possible audience, write for yourself, and let the novel/episode find its own audience.

7. Don't reuse the same cliche's over and over (Kit and The Horsekin I'm looking at you, oh and RTD of course with the recurring villains), the reader/viewer WILL get bored, and the suspense and fear of the adversary is lost.
 
Well that's all from me for now. Whew what a rant!

Ok guys I am so freaking excited. SFX magazine did an interview with Alexandra Moen (Lucy saxon in season three of dr who) and asked for fan led questions to ask her. I asked wether or not she loved The Master and my question was selected to ask.

Here is her answer and boy am I happy to hear it (my fan fics are now not entirely wrong)

Do you think Lucy loves The Master? Or did he have some other hold over her?
Maureen

“Did she love him? Definitely. She definitely loved him. I think she's a daddy's girl. And then the Master, who is very charismatic and became her husband, he chose her because she had the full package – the society girl – but she was also quite impressionable. So I think she definitely loved the Master."

so The Master's wife knows I exist and it seems like she herself is a Lucy/Master shipper. She also seems half in love with John Simm. I can't blame her.

This answer was great!

What does John Simm taste like?
Llama God

"Fantastic! Like peaches and cream!"

the link to the rest of the interview is here...
http://www.sfx.co.uk/page/sfx?entry=fannish_inquisition_alexander_moen_aka

and apparently the saxon's met at a disco because they both liked dancing... according to AM it's why they married lol. Yep. We definitely are dealing with a Lucy/Master shipper. I lovett!

I've always had this obsession with working out evil characters motivations for doing things, which is why even though I disagree with people who claim that Wicked is the greatest musical ever (that would be those written by the musical genius Stephan Sondheim) I do have to admit that the opening and closing songs of No one mourns the Wicked really have hold of something that not many people like to admit... which is basically that the world isn't black and white... but rather shades of grey.

the respective lyrics are here:

Let us be glad
Let us be grateful
Let us rejoicify that goodness could subdue
The wicked workings of you-know-who
Isn't it nice to know
That good will conquer evil?
The truth we all believe'll by and by
Outlive a lie
For you and -

SOMEONE IN THE CROWD:
No one mourns the Wicked

ANOTHER PERSON:
No one cries "They won't return!"

ALL:
No one lays a lily on their grave

MAN:
The good man scorns the Wicked!

WOMEN:
Through their lives, our children learn

ALL:
What we miss, when we misbehave:

GLINDA:
And Goodness knows
The Wicked's lives are lonely
Goodness knows
The Wicked die alone
It just shows when you're Wicked
You're left only
On your own

ALL:
Yes, Goodness knows
The Wicked's lives are lonely
Goodness knows
The Wicked cry alone
Nothing grows for the Wicked
They reap only
What they sow

and later on:

No one mourns the Wicked!
Now at last, she's dead and gone!
Now at last, there's joy throughout the land
And Goodness knows
We know what Goodness is
Goodness knows
The Wicked die alone

GLINDA:
She died alone

ALL:
Woe to those (Woe to those)
Who spurn what Goodnesses
They are shown
No one mourns the Wicked

now having taken out all the superfluous stuff that relates to the Wicked Witch and other characters in the actual musical, this song could pretty much apply to every well written evil character under the sun. I love this song so much, I love the irony involved and how in the finale there's one choir who is overjoyed that the witch is dead, and how the second choir is quietly mournful, seeming to say, "No one mourns the wicked" even as they know that in real life, there is always someone left to mourn.

Now when I say well written evil characters I'm not talking Sauron from LOTR say who is just evil for the sake of it, but rather evil characters that are given some sort of reason for their evilness.

and some examples of evil characters who are loved despite their evilness...

evil people can be loved... (this is the guy who destroyed one tenth of the world's population, imprisoned The Doctor and abused his wife) and yet the Doctor is ABSOLUTELY shattered that he is dying!!!



and mourned for... (I still get a bit emotional remembering this scene) You know its serious when a male is crying...



and from Sweeney Todd...



Toby loves Mrs Lovett and even kills Sweeney in revenge for his murder of her (this is despite knowing she is an evil bitch who willingly took part in murder to cook bodies in pies, and who would have killed Toby himself) again proving... people mourn the Wicked.

Other examples...

Mab and Merlin in Hallmark's Merlin (Mab pretty much destroys everything Merlin loves and he still is sad when she dies)

Various characters in KK's Deverry saga

Darth Vadar in the Star Wars prequels

and others that I will add when I think of them...