Of Twilight and Psychotic Pre-Teens (and Middle Aged Moms)

Okay, so I'm finally breaking my TV show review/critique streak and moving on to movies. And what better way to start than with the craze that's swept the nation for the past 5 years?? The 'Twilight' books were first published in 2005... and since then, it's been like a fever sweeping much of the female and some of the male population worldwide. Here's a link to the official site for the movies and the books.

Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart)

Vampires and werewolves have skyrocketed in popularity. Several (not spinoffs, but with similar content) TV and book series's have sprung up since the books and movies started gaining popularity, and those have been immensely popular as well (examples: The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, and many others). There's something Stephanie Meyer, the author, quickly rocketed to fame, and with the advent of the Twilight movies (created by Summit Entertainment), the craze has spread even more. 

Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson)

The story centers around Isabella Swan, known to her friends as Bella, who meets a fascinatingly handsome and mysterious boy named Edward Cullen. Edward turns out to be a 108 year old vampire, who will forever appear as a 17 year old, because he was turned into a vampire in 1918. This sounds silly, and when you think about it, it is. But even I go through phases of being obsessed with the books. Thankfully I regain my senses after a short while. 

Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner)

Notorious for it's hopelessly romantic content, lots of mentions of true love and soul mates and such things, the book appeals to many girls between the ages of 10 and 53 (I know this for a fact; My 53 year old aunt dressed up for the premieres of the most recent two movies and avidly discusses both the films and the books once a week with her colleagues from work). 

There have been countless parodies and critiques of both the books and the fans of the books. Known as 'Twihards' (a combination of the words Die-hard and Twilight), these fans are some of the most notoriously over-obsessed in a long time. Edward Cullen has become a symbol of perfection for young girls and older women alike, and if Edward isn't your style, you can always go over to 'Team Jacob', the other drool-worthy male in the series. He's a werewolf, just by the way. 

The movies have sent all the young actors and actresses involved to a very sudden and unexpected state of stardom. I'm glad for their success. Though Robert Pattinson does admit to feeling quite stifled from all the attention. I can understand where he's coming from, but he shouldn't complain about success. He's gotten starring roles in other movies because of his success as Edward Cullen and he's set for life on money, as are the other top-billed cast members. 

Of Secret Diary of a Call Girl and Inventive Camera Work

So, going back to my Doctor Who theme, the actress that played Rose Tyler has of course gone on to other projects since her work on the show. After finishing her role as the first Companion in the new Doctor Who series, Billie Piper (link to the main fan site for her) went on to play the starring role in ITV2's 'Secret Diary of a Call Girl'.

The show follows the story of Hannah Baxter, who leads a double life; Her family and friends think she works as a night time legal secretary, but in reality she works as Belle, a high-class London prostitute. Throughout the show, the problems that come up revolve around keeping the job a secret from the people she knows. Later in the show, the problem becomes telling people about what she does, not wanting to lie to them, as she tries to mesh her profession in with her actual life. Revolving around secrecy and sarcasm, the show has a brilliantly snarky feel, and makes no apologies for the amount of sexual references and innuendos, all approached with a humorous air. It's a different lifestyle, and the show makes that very clear. (Because of it's cavalier approach to sexual material, it's been compared to 'Sex and the City'. But myself, and other reviewers for the show, disagree. You can read about that here.)

The show started in 2007, the first acting job Billie Piper did after leaving Doctor Who. It's such a drastic change from her portrayal of Rose Tyler that she's barely recognizable at first. But you quickly get used to it, as she completely owns the role, playing up every bit of it and making it a phenomenal performance. The character of Belle is unapologetic, brassy, and confident, and Piper plays it brilliantly.

One unusual factor about the show is that Belle often breaks the fourth wall, as in she talks directly to the audience. Usually to tell us what's going on in her mind, or to add some ironic comment about whatever situation happens to be going on at the time. Here's a link to an example.

The last thing I want to point out about this show is that, while filming season 2, Piper was pregnant with her first child. Playing a prostitute in a very adult show, you may wonder how this was possible. But with some inventive camera work and a couple of body doubles, there are only two shots where the pregnancy is blatantly obvious, and even then you have to work to catch them. I didn't even realize this fact about season 2 until after I'd seen the entire thing and read an article on it.

If you don't mind the (vaguely) uncensored sexual content, it's definitely a show worth checking out. The fourth and final season is premiering in January on ITV2.

Of Torchwood and Spinoffs

My first post in this blog was on Doctor Who, the infamous TV series that's something of a national treasure in the UK because of it's longevity and versatility. HOWEVER, there's another show that the BBC had broadcasting a year back or so, and it's a spinoff series from Doctor Who. Named after the British alien investigation agency in Doctor Who, the series is called Torchwood. You can get to the official site here.

Gwen Cooper

The show follows the lives and stories of the five members of this organization, but primarily Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles). She gets involved with Torchwood almost by accident; nosing into a police case that she has no business in and sneaking around till she finds out about the secret organization. There she meets the other members, who I'll talk about next.

Cpt. Jack Harkness

The show is much more adult than Doctor Who. The situations are more adult, the monsters and aliens are more disturbing, there are blatant sexual innuendos, and A LOT of sexual tension between multiple characters.

Owen Harper

Captain Jack Harkness (a recurring character in Doctor Who, played by John Barrowman) is a man who can't die. His character is shrouded in mystery, and he's hugely charismatic. (It's because of this character that the show was even thought of. People wanted to see more about him. He's many people's very favorite character. As you can see here.)

Toshiko Sato

There's also Owen Harper (Burn Gorman). He's the primary medic for the team, and when you first meet him, his character seems boorish, crass, and unfeeling. But as you get to learn more about the characters, you find out that there's a lot more underneath his angry exterior.

Ianto Jones

Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori) is a technological genius. She's in love with Owen but too shy to say anything for most of the series. She cares a lot about the rest of the team, though she doesn't show it as much as she'd like to. (Many fans love the Owen/Tosh pairing, though it wasn't shown much in the show. Here's a fansite.)

And finally there's Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd). He's very quiet in season one, primarily seen as a butler type character. But in season two the writers gave him a lot more to do, and I'm so glad they did, because he rapidly became my favorite character. He and Jack are in a relationship for most of season two (which is considered one of the more adult themes of the show. I think it's brilliant how open they are with it). It's one of the most-loved gay relationships on TV thus far. Here's a link to a fansite.

Defending Cardiff, Wales from aliens coming through a rift in space and time, Torchwood stays in the shadows. The show has a big following, which isn't surprising, seeing as many fans of the already-popular Doctor Who tuned in while it was still airing. Here's a link to one of many fan communities.

Lastly, I'm going to expel a moment of rage about the ending of the show. Characters died that didn't need to die, and it made me very upset. I cried. A lot. I hate you, writers. The end.

(left to right) Ianto, Gwen, Jack, Toshiko, and Owen in all their badass-ness

Picture Sources:
http://doctorwho.neoseeker.com/w/i/doctorwho/a/a3/Torchwood_Logo.jpg
http://lisapaitzspindler.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/cooper_gwen1.jpg
http://www.hellomagazine.com/imagenes/profiles//burn-gorman/915-burn-1b.jpg
http://lilcocky.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/toshikosato.jpg?w=495
http://images.digitalspy.co.uk/09/28/550x_torchwood_iantos03.jpg
http://blogs.popzara.com/media/14/20100120-torchwood.jpg

Of Glee and Gleeks

When I first saw previews for Glee, I had no interest in the show. Being from a ridiculously small school, I didn't know what a Glee club was, and the character that they seemed to be highlighting looked abrasive and annoying. But somehow I was convinced to give it a try. And that's how I got hooked. Click here to go to the official site for the show. It's classified as a 'musical drama'... very different from anything else currently on the air. 

Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch)

Once I finally started watching, I realized that this was the point of the character. Sue Sylvester is abrasive. She's bitchy. So much so that once you get used to her, it's actually hilarious. The character is played by Jane Lynch, and she does it brilliantly. Despite her technically being the villain of the series, she is a favorite of many characters and she keeps getting more and more outrageous as the show goes on. Here is a video highlighting some of her more memorable moments. 

Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison)

On the other side of the spectrum, Will Schuester, who is the director of the Glee club, is sweet (albeit insecure at times) and focused on the kid's futures instead of on personal gain (like Sue). Played by Matthew Morrison, the character is convincing, relatable, and has an incredible voice. (Plus he's adorable. Personal opinion.)

Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer)

The cast of the kids in the glee club is different from other shows, because they're primarily hired for their voices, not their looks like it would be for other shows. The casting directors found people to fit every role they needed, with one exception; The character of Kurt. Chris Colfer originally tried out for a different role, but the casting directors and the creator of the show liked him so much that they created an entirely new role for him. Here's an article on that particular story.

The show just started it's second season the Tuesday before last. It's got a huge fanbase. There are fansites everywhere, and the official term for a glee fan is a 'Gleek' (obviously a combination of the words 'Glee' and 'Geek'). Here's one of the more popular fansites that focuses on the show and the characters, and here's another that focuses on that along with the impact Glee is having on the world today. 

The Glee cast mid song in an episode performance

Picture Sources:

http://www.watch-glee.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/glee_logo.jpg

http://www.culch.ie/images/2010/June/SueGlee001.jpg

http://www.e4.com/media/F7EAD488-7726-4E0B-AC4D-BB29ED9ECC7E_extra.jpg

http://thefaust.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/chris-colfer1.jpg

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/37478803/Glee+Cast+PNG.png

Of The Big Bang Theory and Epic Nerdery

I couldn't think of what to do for this post. But then my friend suggested something, and I knew I had to do it. I keep doing posts about drama shows... Why not a comedy? Therefore, my post this week is about 'The Big Bang Theory.'

Yes, the show is a sitcom. Which I generally tend to avoid. The laugh tracks drive me up a wall. But this is more than just your average sitcom. There are the regular awkward situations, well-placed and convenient dialogue, and the one character that no one can stand but everyone puts up with. But it's a SMART comedy. It's geared towards the nerdier aspects of life these days (which is the main reason I find it so funny). References to video games, cult TV shows, and science are thrown in almost constantly. Here's a link to the show's official site. 

The show follows the life of Caltech experimental physicist Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki, left) and his certified genius roommate Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons, right), who also works at the university as a theoretical physicist. 

The other main characters in the cast are Leonard and Sheldon's two friends; aersospace engineer Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg, left) and particle astrophysicist Rajesh Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar, right). They also work at Caltech. 

Rounding out the bunch is Penny (Kaley Cuoco, left), the social, outgoing, waitress/aspiring actress that lives in the apartment across the hall from Leonard and Sheldon. In the pilot of the show, Penny moves into the apartment building after splitting with her boyfriend of four years, Kurt. Leonard is immediately taken with her, and that becomes one of the running themes of the show. The two do end up dating eventually, but it's spotty and their relationship status keeps changing. This is partly because of conflicting interests; Penny isn't really into video games (though she does have a brief stint where she's obsessed with online gaming), science, or the TV shows that the guys are all fans of. But they do their best to work it out and it makes for some very funny situations.

Sheldon is perhaps the most well-known character in the show. Anal, obsessive compulsive, and full of himself, he's a very hard person to be around and the show draws attention to this fact all the time. (If you're interested, you can watch some of him here.) He didn't have any friends before Leonard moved in as his roommate, and now he just sort of hangs out with the gang by default. Though he has shown some signs of actual friendship towards the other characters - for instance, when Penny gave him an autographed napkin from Leonard Nimoy for Christmas, he actually hugged her, a first on the show (he normally avoids any and all physical contact). He is also known for wearing shirts that represent nerdy fandoms or concepts - There's a site dedicated to his shirts if you click here. 

Another ongoing theme is centered around Wolowitz and Koothrappali. The two are notoriously prone to messing things up with women. Wolowitz claims to have been with many women, but it's referenced several times that most of these were hookers and/or 'fake women.' And Koothrappali has a psychological disorder that makes him unable to talk to women unless under the influence of alcohol. Because of this, the two spend a lot of time together, and though they are not interested in each other, the way the characters are written makes them sound like a married couple when they argue, and it's quite hilarious. Naturally, some people take the pairing way too far and write fanfictions about these two characters. If you're into that sort of thing, you can click here. 

The show has a huge following that is steadily increasing. It has it's own wiki, which is different for a sitcom. This past Thursday (9/23/10), the fourth season premiered in it's new timeslot, and was watched by approximately 13.95 million people, up about a million from the season 3 premiere last year. It's produced by Chuck Lorre, the same man who is responsible for the other well-known CBS comedy, Two and a Half Men. I, for one, hope the show continues for years, as I've grown attached to the characters and story and love the geekiness of the show. It plays for a different audience than many sitcoms, one that I'm a part of, and that's what makes it so uniquely brilliant. 

Of Dexter and Sociopaths

To keep my 'blog entries about TV shows' thing going (at least for one more week), I decided to pick another show that I quite enjoy. I'm not a fan of it in the same way that I love Heroes or Doctor Who, because it's not that kind of show. It's suspenseful, and there are no special effects or particularly funny moments that make you want to watch over and over. It's an intelligent show, full of murder, sociopaths, plot twists, and suspense. The acting is brilliant, and the story is even better. I'm talking about Dexter.

The show started in 2006, the first season being loosely based off of Jeff Lindsay's book 'Darkly Dreaming Dexter.' If you click here, you can go to the official site for the books. I've read that first book... it's written very interestingly. There's a lot of dark humor, and the author obviously did a lot of research on sociopaths before writing it. The character, Dexter Morgan, even seems a little off while you're reading it. It's really quite brilliant.

Michael C. Hall (Dexter Morgan)

The show follows the life of Dexter, who is a sociopathic serial killer. Going by a 'code' his adopted father Harry set down when he was young (Harry knew Dexter would have these urges to kill because of his past; Dexter's mother was murdered violently in front of him), Dexter only kills criminals, other killers, that the law couldn't convict because of a lack of evidence. Because Harry was a police office, he also taught Dexter how to flawlessly cover his tracks, and so Dexter remains undetected and uncaught, even keeping a day job with the Miami Metro Police Department as a blood spatter analyst.

With such a complex character, of course you've got to wonder who they would choose to play him. Who could pull of playing a sociopath? Acting like a person who has to act out every interaction their entire life, trying to seem natural, but just a little off-center? The actor that was chosen to play Dexter is Michael C. Hall, and he has won 5 awards for his portrayal, including a Golden Globe. Here's a link to his IMDB page, where you can view his awards, nominations, and other information.

Jennifer Carpenter (Debra Morgan)

Opposite him as another main character is Debra Morgan, Dexter's adopted sister (in the book, her name is Deborah Morgan. There seems to be no apparent reason for the name change). She's played by, oddly enough, Michael C. Hall's wife, Jennifer Carpenter. But they're very comfortable with each other, and the brother/sister dynamic comes across. They started dating and got married after the show started - I'm not sure if they knew each other beforehand or not. Here's an article with some fan's reactions to the pairing.

The series usually features a new character each season that ends up dying and/or being a threat to Dexter's secret identity. These characters have been played by a range of actors, including names like Jimmy Smits and John Lithgow, most recently. Here is a link to an interview with Smits about his character, Miguel Prado, and another link here to an interview with Lithgow about his, Arthur Mitchell (aka 'The Trinity Killer'). Both draw some interesting parallels and conclusions about their characters and the series.

The premiere for season 5 of this show is this Sunday on Showtime, and frankly, I can't wait. The series was going to be cancelled because Michael C. Hall was diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment. But he is now in steady remission and us fans are thrilled to have him back as America's favorite serial killer!

Of Heroes and Writer's Strikes

I spent a long time considering what the subject matter for this second post would be. I thought of continuing the Doctor Who theme and doing a post on David Tennant, Billie Piper, or even John Barrowman, who are all incredible. I may still do a post on them. But today, I feel like bringing my other favorite television show (who has been somewhat neglected of late, because of Doctor Who) and do a post on past world-wide sensation Heroes.

The logo for the series, featuring the plot-important eclipse.

The premise for the show is that the individuals that the show focuses on all have unique and individual superpowers. These powers are ingrained in their DNA, not because they're aliens or because they got too close to something radioactive. These people were born with these powers, but they only start to develop after a certain eclipse. Many connections between the characters are revealed throughout the storyline (which explains the appeal to fans of the show 'LOST,' it's the same sort of interconnecting character web. I happen to be a huge fan of both shows. Here is a link to the official Heroes wiki, for any question you could possibly want answered concerning the show). The show follows these people as they come to terms with who they are now that they have these abilities, and even more so, what they're going to do with them. Many issues of classic good and evil are brought up.

Peter Petrelli

Claire Bennet

There are many characters with 'classic' superpowers in the show, such as the flying Nathan Petrelli, the un-injurable Claire Bennet, and the telepathic Matt Parkman. But they also had more unusual powers, such as Peter Petrelli's 'power empathy,' the ability to absorb the powers of others, Micah Sanders' 'technopathy', the ability to control and direct machines, and Hiro Nakamura's time and space traveling, meaning he can teleport anywhere and anywhen (without a TARDIS). Obviously there were some bad decisions made about the show, leading to some (for lack of a better word) dumb powers. Here's a list that Cracked.com did of the worst 'Heroes' powers to have. I fully agree with this list.

Hiro Nakamura

Sylar (aka Gabriel Gray)

The show started on NBC in fall 2006, and within the first few episodes had gathered a huge following. People loved seeing these seemingly normal people have unique and individual superpowers. It seemed like everyone was waiting with bated breath for the finale of the series, when the main characters, the 'heroes,' as it were, would have their final standoff with the villain of the series, Sylar. (Sylar's power was to know how things worked, to -need- to know how they worked. Driven by a psychological need to be special, he killed other people with powers, and using his ability, took the people apart and absorbed the DNA that gave them their power. On a constant hunt for new abilities that would make him more powerful, he remained the main villain for the entire series.)

Elle Bishop

Season two rolled around. It introduced a few new characters and powers, including Monica Dawson, who could could physically copy what she saw people do, and Elle Bishop, who could generate and manipulate electricity. But despite these new powers, the storyline started to suffer, because that was the year of the infamous writer's strike (more detailed information on this event here). Other popular shows (such as LOST) also suffered from plot holes and bad writing because the writers simply stopped doing their jobs, and the slipshod replacements that TV stations brought in just weren't up to snuff. Season 2 is filled with gaps, blatant plot devices, and bad dialogue. It is also only about half of the length of the first season.

When Season 3 came the following year, the original writers came back!! This of course must be a good thing, right? No, sadly, they had to spend almost half the season cleaning up the mess the Season 2 writers made. Viewers were dropping like flies. Even as loyal fans of the show, my friends and I found Seasons 2 and 3 almost painful to watch. We watched still, but it didn't come anywhere close to Season 1. The season eventually did come back up to snuff, and the finale was as epic, if not more so, than for Season 1. Everyone assumed that the show would come back. NBC even did an entire superbowl commercial featuring the actors to promote the show. But when it was time for Season 4, the show never did regain it's original high-status or viewer count. NBC cancelled the show in the spring of 2010 (much to my distress and the distress of many fans worldwide. Click here to go to the unofficial/official fan page).

Leading up to this cancellation, many fans realized the show was in danger, and several attempts were made to save the show. SaveHeroesSaturday was one of them. Fans of the show put those words in every single one of their tweets that day, hoping that the topic would trend on Twitter and that NBC would see how big the fanbase was. This event wasn't as successful as the subsequent Heroes100Saturday, which I proudly took part in. The topic was high on the trending list in several places all around the world, and it managed to reach 8th on the worldwide trending list. But despite all of our efforts, NBC cancelled the show anyway.

Let me just point out that Heroes is one of the most purchased shows on iTunes and on DVD. Also, NBC was the station to cancel 'Star Trek' back in 1969. This station does not seem to realize what their viewers want, and what shows are going to stay popular.

There is one last effort being made to save the show, tomorrow actually. This is known as 'Spam NBC Sunday.' We're hoping, again, that NBC will take notice of us pathetic fans and give us back our characters we love so much. GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE INVOLVED!! If you're interested, here's a link to the event page.

PICTURE SOURCES: 
Logo: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/70/Heroes_logo.png
Claire Bennet: http://hollywoodhatesme.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/claire-bennet_the-cheerleader.jpg
Peter Petrelli: http://heroes.download-tvshows.com/files/milo_ventimiglia.jpg
Hiro Nakamura: http://woodenspears.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/masi_oka_hiro_nakamura2.jpg
Sylar: http://www.heroestheseries.com/uploads/2008/07/heroes-301-promos-4.jpg
Elle: http://images.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/20071114/293.bell.heroes.111407.jpg

Of Doctor Who and Whovians

When trying to think of what I could blog about for my first entry, there was never really any question in my mind about the subject matter. I wanted to do something meaningful, but just a little obscure. And obviously it had to be something I'm a fan of. So... I figured why not blog about the current focus of my existence? (College! my Mum would say. Grades! Succeeding in life! No, no, and no.) This entry is about the British sci-fi television show, Doctor Who.

One of the better-known logos for the series.

I first heard of Doctor Who about three years ago, maybe even four. My friend Brittany was telling me about it, and to be honest, I wasn't all that interested. She said I should check it out, I agreed to, and then promptly forgot about it for the next thirty-six months or so. 

Then I got to college. My roommate Megan watched a lot of TV shows online, and one of which was Doctor Who. All I could remember is that my friend Brittany liked it. I saw a few clips here and there throughout the year, but somehow still never got into it. 

It wasn't until this summer just past that I started watching, as per Megan's suggestion. She wanted to start a roleplay storyline, and I offered to play Rose Tyler from the show, with her playing The Doctor. At first I just made stuff up as I went along, but then I felt bad and decided I should probably explore my character more. So I started watching from the beginning of the new series. And that's when the madness started. 

The TARDIS. Yes, it looks like a
police box from the 1950's.

Doctor Who, shown on the BBC, is the longest running sci-fi show in history, with it's 50th anniversary coming in 2013. (Click this link to go to BBC's official site for the show.) It follows the adventures of the Doctor, who is an alien known as a Time Lord, along with various companions, as he travels through space and time in his TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space). The thing that's kept the show running so long (a brilliant idea on the writer's part) is the fact that when the Doctor gets injured badly (something that would kill him), because he's a Time Lord, he can regenerate into a new person; still with the Doctor's memories, but an entirely new personality and appearance. Meaning basically, whenever an actor playing the Doctor either wants to leave or isn't getting the show good ratings, they can have the Doctor regenerate and therefore bring in a new actor. Whenever the Doctor regenerates, it's always an important scene, and with the improvements on special effects over the years, these scenes have gotten more dramatic throughout the years. If you feel like comparing all of them, click here. Be warned, it's a long haul, especially if you don't know what's going on.

Since the show's been going on since 1963, there have obviously been many changes since its' first broadcast. For one, it was originally done in black and white. The theme song originally used during the title sequence was the first song ever to be done entirely with synthesizers. It's morphed throughout the years to match the show, along with the title sequence itself. If you're into overanalyzing things like I am, you might enjoy this video, which shows how the sequence has changed throughout the years. Another long haul, but more non-Whovian friendly. 

What is a 'Whovian' you ask? Basically, it's a fan of the show. I proudly consider myself a Whovian. Since the show took such a long break (it was cancelled from 1986 - 1996, and then another break was had between then and 2005), people who just started watching in 2005 can still be considered loyal Whovians, despite their failure to have watched 'classic' Doctor Who. (Here's a brief video explaining the appeal of the show, made by Whovian and popular Youtuber Charlie McDonnell.)

The cover art for Chamelon Circuit's
Trock album. Do I own it? Why
yes. Yes I do. 

Whovians can range from catching the show now and then, to watching it obsessively and making music videos for it, to composing their own songs about the show and releasing them on CD's that people pay money for. This genre of music, known as Trock (Timelord Rock) is hugely popular in certain circles, but basically unknown to most. One particular band that I want to highlight call themselves 'Chameleon Circuit', named after a certain contraption on board the TARDIS. Here is a link to the band's official Myspace page, where you can check out their music. 

Now, you say, this is sounding ridiculous. I mean, it's sounding as big as Star Trek! They can't possibly have their own conventions though, can they? Well... try clicking here. This is where you can buy tickets, if you really want to go. (I DO. SO BADLY.)

The fact is, particularly in the UK, the show is huge. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone over there that hasn't at least heard of the show. And because they keep bringing in new actors, the show is a big part of British pop-culture. Billie Piper, for one, was a singer before she starred as Rose Tyler in the show's revival in 2005. Scottish actor David Tennant, who played the Doctor from 2006 - 2010, has become a beloved figure and is renowned as a brilliant actor. A popular site that keeps up with the latest Doctor Who news is actually a blog known as Blogtor Who, and you can access that by clicking here.

Billie Piper as Rose Tyler and David Tennant
as The Doctor.

I'm going to end this before it gets even more ridiculously long-winded and my geekiness is made any more apparent. (If that's at all possible.)

PICTURE SOURCES (Which I forgot to add at first):
Logo: http://www.doctorwhochronology.com/doctorwho/images/doctor-who-logo.jpg
TARDIS: http://regmedia.co.uk/2007/11/09/flying_tardis.jpg
Chameleon Circuit Cover-art: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51brV52wAcL._SL500_AA280_.jpg
Billie Piper and David Tennant: http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/doctor_who_and_rose.jpg