And I’m back with another Signal Boost.
This time I’m spreading the word for my friend Janneke Zander. The Zanders have been family friends for near ages (and of course they were all heavily involved in Sarah’s wedding), and to a one, they’re among the most generous people I know. Continue reading
I know it always feels a little weird to talk about winter events in San Antonio. When you have to scrape the frost off your windshields before you drive to work in the morning, only to go home that same afternoon with the windows rolled down and the A/C turned off, no one can blame you for thinking that winter is just an urban legend you heard about that one time.
But we’re a resourceful lot. And if we want snow, we’ll make it happen one way or another.
Which brings us to one of my favorite winter events. Continue reading
One of the many joys of Series 9 of Doctor Who was the way it kept confounding expectations. Just when you thought you knew where the show would take the characters – and you – it thwarted you, and them. (One of my favorite examples was “Before the Flood.” When a Part 1 ends with your main character turned into a ghost, the last thing you expect to see at the beginning of Part 2 is that same main character playing an electric guitar and going on about Beethoven. But it was PERFECT.)
By now, we all know this season ended with Twelve losing Clara, getting her back, and finally letting her go. Together, those three episodes put him, her, and us through an emotional wringer. So it would make sense that the Christmas special would lighten up and allow all of us to enjoy a holiday romp.
And it would also make sense that Steven Moffat would confound us once again. Love or hate him, it’s why we keep watching him.
Instead, he gave us exactly what we wanted. And needed.
And that’s 2015.
As Mike Milligan would say – and I’ll have more to say about him and the rest of that rogues gallery soon enough – “Okay then.”
Between day job, projects, and Sarah’s wedding, I’ve been more than a lot remiss in posting event notices. And I’m really sorry about that.
But there are some great events coming up this weekend, so if you’re fishing for festive family fun, read on… Continue reading
Everybody knows that everybody dies. And nobody knows it like the Doctor. But I do think that all the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark if he ever, for one moment, accepts it.
-River Song
That’s been the constant theme in Series 9 of Doctor Who. He’s the Doctor, and he saves people.
He’s the one who spends all his lives raging against the dying of the light. He’s the one who would tear the entire universe apart to save just one friend.
But what would happen if he really had to?
The answer takes up three episodes, and it brings an incredible season to a beautiful finish.
Continue reading
What do you say when you find out your baby sister is getting married?
One day – and you don’t even realize it’s happened – this wonderful human being you’ve known as a child her whole life has grown up. She’s fallen in love with an equally wonderful human being. And she’s ready to spend the rest of her life with him.
How do you even BEGIN to deal with the emotions that come with that?
In retrospect, this episode might have been doomed from the beginning.
Any episode that came after Peter Capaldi’s classic performance in “The Zygon Inversion” (which I’m still thinking about today) was going to suffer by the mere fact of its juxtaposition. So you can’t fault Doctor Who for choosing such a radically different episode to follow it.
But radically different doesn’t always equate to good. And “Sleep No More” suffers less from the juxtaposition than from one fatal gimmick.
Every Doctor has those moments that define him. That reveal him, his values and ideals. That show he’s worthy of the name.
Of course, they’re also the moments where the actors prove themselves worthy. William Hartnell letting go of his only family. Tom Baker asking “Do I have the right?” David Tennant wrestling with his conscience so many times.
Peter Capaldi’s first series, of course, gave us a perfect I Am The Doctor moment with that speech in “Flatline.” It was that stand-up-and-squee moment we’d been waiting for all season, and for a little while it might have been the Twelfth Doctor’s defining moment.
Until now. Until a scene so powerful, a performance so perfect, that Capaldi needs only three words to break your heart.
As November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month, as I know so many people affected by epilepsy, and as my friend Crystal works with the Epilepsy Foundation of Central & South Texas, I thought I’d help spread the word about this weekend’s event.
On Saturday, the foundation will be hosting the Step Up for Epilepsy SuperHero 5K Fun Run & Walk. It’s taking place at Mission County Park II (7675 Padre Drive, San Antonio, TX 78214), and it promises to be a fun and family-friendly event for geeks of all ages.
Look for appearances by The Batman of San Antonio, along with a large contingent of Whovians, a strong Imperial contingent (I’m just guessing on that one, but come on, the Empire and First Order are so hot right now), and the Express-News’s Jeanne Jakle (who’ll serve as MC, along with her husband Ross Ruediger – and I strongly encourage you to read her personal testimony about what the foundation has meant for her family).
Most of all, whether by your presence or your donation, you get to support great people and a great cause. So I hope you’lll be there, at least in spirit. And I hope you’ll spread the word.
As always, thank you for your support!
Lee Hurtado, Writer 