Thursday, December 29, 2011

9 Months In...

Alright, so I might be failing on keeping regular posts happening, but it's been a slow couple of months. I have been working a lot on the sketch comedy show (And Several Butchers' Aprons) and I am well on the way to achieving that objective.

Reading over my list you may have guessed that I am a fan of Doctor Who. I even applied for a job to work on the current series as script editor. I didn't get the job but after watching the last couple of seasons, maybe I should have. I haven't been a fan of alot of the writing as it hasn't been good Doctor Who; good sci-fi perhaps, but not good Doctor Who.

For example, the 2011 Christmas episode has the Doctor put the other 3 characters in mortal danger and then watches them save themselves. The Doctor could have left the episode half way through and the same outcome would have happened without him. Personally I think the Doctor should be the hero and should save the day.

Considering the ups and downs of the 2011 season, and the late schedule for the 2012 season, if I was working on Doctor Who, this is where I would have the show go from here:



Episode 7x01 - 2012 Easter Special (airs 7 April 2012). To be written by Steven Moffat. The Doctor, Amy & Rory have one final adventure - this would be the farewell of Amy and Rory from the series. The Doctor realises that he needs to carry out a much quieter existence after Amy and Rory are nearly killed as a direct result of the Doctor's actions. Someone in the story mentions the lost prophecies.

Episode 7x02 (airs 4 Aug 2012): "By Any Other Name" to be written by Stephen Greenhorn. The Doctor arrives on Magnus Delta and is mistaken for a galactic official. He is constantly called by the incorrect name and his true identity is never revealed. The Doctor uncovers a plot by an alien race to turn the population of Magnus Delta into slaves, but thwarts their plans.

Episode 7x03 (11 Aug 2012): "The Lost Prophecies" to be written by Chris Chibnall. The Doctor has tracked down the legendary lost prophecies, one of which include details about the fields of Trenzelor when silence must fall. Arriving at the Archaeology University on Saltyx III, the Doctor meets 'a new friend', a female historian, who mistakes him for the new history professor, Giovanni Ferrari. Due to mistaken identity, she does not know that he is 'The Doctor'. The Lost Prophecies are in the possession of Professor Glenelg, a middle aged man who knows the Doctor (albeit not by name) whom he blames for his menial job in the back waters of the cosmos. The Doctor does not remember the Professor ("I meet a lot of people - I can't be expected to remember everyone") which makes matters worse. After a battle, the Doctor gets the prophecies but the Professor escapes.

Episode 7x04 (18 Aug 2012): "Grandfather Paradox" to be written by Steven Moffat. The Doctor and the female historian materialise on modern day Earth. The female historian is amazed and can't quite believe that time travel is actually possible. They meet a teenage boy caught up in an alien plan to kidnap children. The aliens want children to plug into their living spaceship to use as an energy source as imaginations are what the alien space craft needs. The aliens realise that the Doctor has a huge imagination and they try to use him as an energy source. The alien spacecraft however is overloaded by the extensiveness of the Doctor's memories and experiences - the Doctor is the ultimate grandfather paradox after all.

Episode 7x05 (25 Aug 2012): "Pages of History" to be written by Paul Cornell. The Doctor and the female historian are on a tour of an archaeologically important site with a group of other tourists - an ancient library. The Doctor is annoyed at the inaccurate information the tour guide is giving and shows little interest in staying with the tour group. Having left the tour, the Doctor discovers a group of raiders stealing ancient artefacts. The female historian's life is threatened by the raiders and the Doctor is forced to make a hard decision to save her.

Episode 7x06 (1 Sept 2012) & Episode 7x07 (8 Sept 2012): "Spare Parts" by Marc Platt. Assuming that there isn't any restrictions turning this Big Finish audio into a BBC episode, it is a brilliant Cyberman story that I think will work. At the end of the second part, the Doctor returns the female historian (who was almost assimilated by the Cybermen) to her homeworld.

Episode 7x08 - 2012 Christmas Special (25 Dec 2012). To be written by Steven Moffat. The Doctor visits modern day England, trying to keep a low profile. He discovers a transmat device from the future. Witnessing a person use the machine, he follows them. Materialising in the future, he discovers that the Earth is under attack by the Zygons. Starting to lose the war, the Zygons have decided to go back in time and change the course of history. The Doctor manages to stop them.

Episode 7x09 (20 April 2013). A Dalek story (without the word 'Dalek' in the title) to be written by Mark Gatiss. A damaged salvage spaceship docks at a remote space station run by a caretaker - The Doctor. The Doctor has been passing time on the station researching the lost prophecies. One of which include this particular space station. The crew tell of how they barely managed to get away from their attackers. The space station comes under attack - by Daleks. With the shields offline and main power & life support failing, several red drone Daleks, a blue strategist Dalek and and an orange scientist Dalek board the station. Turns out the salvage spaceship has aboard pieces of the destroyed 'Crucible' and unbeknownst to them, the remains of Davros. The new Dalek paradigm have been searching for their creator. After all of the salavage spaceship crew are killed, the Daleks trick the Doctor and leave the space station with the remains of Davros.

Episode 7x10 (27 April 2013). To be written by Gareth Roberts. The Doctor meets up again with the female historian. Several years have passed and she is now running a museum from which was stolen a sacred relic from the constellation of Kasterborous. The Doctor helps her track it down - it is a Timelord artefact designed to track and locate any TARDIS. In the end, the thief (a hired mercenary) and the artefact are vaporised by an unseen assassin.

Episode 7x11 (4 May 2013). To be written by Helen Raynor. The female historian pieces together the truth: the Doctor is a Timelord.

Episode 7x12 (11 May 2013). To be written by Stephen Greenhorn. The TARDIS is under attack by an unknown force. The Doctor is forced to do an emergency materialisation, landing on the dark side of Proxima Centuri I where it is always night. On the planet the TARDIS is attacked by an alien species, similar to those seen in "Planet of the Dead". In this episode, the Doctor gets to know the female historian better. In the end, it turns out that the TARDIS was initially attacked by Professor Glenelg.

Episode 7x13 (18 May 2013). To be written by Toby Whithouse. After tracking down Professor Glenelg, the origin of Glenelg's hatred is revealed - the Doctor is responsible for the death of the Professor's wife. Still having no memory of said events, the Doctor tries to talk things through with Glenelg. Glenelg has an evil plan in motion to destroy the Doctor. In the end, Professor Glenelg's plan backfires and he is vaporized.

Episode 7x14 (25 May 2013). To be written by Keith Temple. The Doctor believes he can change one of the prophecies without dramatically affecting the flow of history. He goes to great lengths to change it, in the process, bumping into a young Professor Glenelg, one who has never met the Doctor. The Doctor tells the Professor about the Prophecies and asks for the Professor's help - the Professor thinks the Doctor is a delusional madman. In the end, the Professor's wife is killed - the Doctor's actions are what causes the prophecy to come true - the Professor now hates the Doctor. The Doctor realises that he no matter what he does, the prophecies all come true. As such, he sets the TARDIS controls for Trenzelor, unsure as to what will occur.

50th Anniversary Special (23 Nov 2013). To be written by Steven Moffat. On the fields of Trenzelor, the question is asked - "Doctor who?" This episode would see the regeneration of the Doctor (the prophecy says "at the fall of the 11th") and the farewell of Matt Smith from the series.

While I know that the actual series will probably be nothing like what I have here, I don't know if what they officially come up will be any good. There are rumours that they are looking at filming in Australia but that makes no sense financially. Yes they shot in the USA but that was a part of trying to increase their presence in the US market, and was financially aided by a poor US economy - neither of which is applicable to Australia. That said, I like being proved wrong... Wouldn't it be great if Steven Moffat liked my ideas...

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Update: September 2011

Alright, so it has been 6 months since I set myself the 40 Before 40 objective. I can report that I can cross some things off my list.

Item #1 - Drive around the United States of America
Yes. Done. Achieved. And boy was it a blast :) Here are just a couple of pics: Graceland... THE grassy knoll... Mesa Verde National Park







Item #11 - "The Art Of War"
I have to say that this book was not an easy read. It's not that it is difficult to read, it is just a boring text book of opinion. However I can say that I am ready for the revolution when it comes!

STATUS: 2/40 = 5%

Friday, September 16, 2011

Superannuation Spectacular

Item #5 - sort out my superannuation

I have sifted through the huge pile of superannuation statements from the last 6 years that I had stock piled and worked out that I have 9 separate superannuation accounts. My task now is to ring them all and work out how to roll them all into one account, hopefully not losing the entire day doing so.

sigh

The only thing is that I sifted through the pile 6 years ago with the same goal but obviously got distracted (or curled up under the table crying because it was all too difficult) and didn't get it completely sorted. Sadly I am procrastinating and writing this blog post...

sigh

Monday, March 28, 2011

One week on...

So it has been a week since I declared to the world that I was going to set myself forty goals before I reached the 40th anniversary of the day of my birth, and I have to say that I have surprised myself at how productive that week has been.

Item #7 - Sketch Comedy Series
The ideas have been pouring out of my head like a washing machine on the drain cycle: lots of little bits of dirty material. In general though the scripts are coming along in a slow fashion but I see the remainder of this year being set to getting the scripts written with production starting during summer.

Item #8 - deLorean Time Machine
I realized the other day that this goal is the most expensive and as such the most likely goal to not be achieved. So that I can claim partial success on this goal, I have expanded the goal to not only get a full scale drivable replica deLorean time machine but to collect as many replica time machines as possible.



As the deLorean is a specialist item I have decided to start with something I can build relatively easily. As such, I am going to start off by building a TARDIS.



Item #11 - "The Art Of War"
I have both a paperback copy and a Kindle ebook and I have started reading - this may just be the first goal I will complete...



Item #40 - regular blog posting
Although this is the first update, I think its a good start

Friday, March 18, 2011

The beginning

Recently I found myself reading a friend's blog and discovered her thirty before 30 and not only was it enjoyable to read, it inspired me to write my own list. Since the train journey of my life has already visited and left the station of 30, it makes sense to make a list of forty things to do before the train arrives at 40 in 2017. Jess, this is all your fault :)

1. Drive around the United States of America. Granted this one is already in the works but I have been trying to get there since the late 90s but have always had something get in the way and stop me from going so I think it's fair to count it.

2. Make a feature film. I don't mind if I write it, produce it or do anything else of note (ie assistant to the assistant grip doesn't count). Something I can be proud of...

3. Learn a foreign language. Sure, I know a lot of words in various languages (such as Italian, Japanese, German, French and Klingon) and I am proficient in science languages (such as mathematics, basic and HTML), at present I do not know any language to a point where I can have a conversation in it.

4. Learn how to use a DSLR properly and be able to join in on conversations that my pro-photographer wife, Clare Day, has with her pro-photographer friends. I mean who knows the difference between a rotary focal-plane shutter and a revolving drum focal-plane shutter?? What the hell is a focal-plane shutter any way?!

5. Sort out my superannuation. I know it's not fun. I know it's about as far away from fun as you could probably get but I need to do it and I have been putting it off for years. I hope my list gets better as I write it...

6. Work with a "wow" celebrity. I know I have worked with Scott Fisher and my friend Scott Congdon nearly wet himself when 'The Fish' said an on-air hello to him, but that doesn't count. I am talking a big name celebrity that is internationally known.

7. Make a sketch comedy series. I have been trying to get this one done for close to 10 years now in one form or another, and if all goes well this time, it will happen. But it hasn't happened yet...

8. Buy a 1981/82 deLorean DMC-12. Fit it out like the one in Back To The Future. Drive around saying things like "Where we're going we don't need roads" and "Marty, you've got to come back with me to the future. People keep putting dice on your head and shouting 'Boggle'!"

9. Spend a day outside in some shade reading a good book. Maybe something by Mitch Albom or Robert Harris.

10. Drive across the nullabor and visit the town of Forrest

11. Read Sun Tzu's "The Art Of War"

12. Meet Nicholas Meyer. I almost got the chance in February 2011 but couldn't raise the money to travel to the other side of the country for a weekend seminar... and I would have missed my wife's birthday. If I could have a career like anyone, it would be him. Sadly I might be the next Ed Wood...

13. Win an award for something. Sorry Clare, best husband doesn't count.

14. Stay at the Sidi Driss Hotel in Matmata, Tunisia. Because I am a geek.

15. Watch a foreign language film with my wife. She doesn't like foreign films or horror films so Ringu is probably out... maybe Battle Royale...

16. Fire a rifle/pistol/bazooka/anti-tank mortar... test range or go crazy at work, either will do.

17. Ride on the orient Express... and maybe pretend I am from Belgium while I am there

18. Ride in a helicopter

19. Work/volunteer abroad in a place devastated by war, terrorism or natural disaster, helping the local people get basic services like food, water, clothing, etc. Several years back volunteers were needed to help out in Costa Rica after an earthquake. Staying with locals in their homes, the volunteers helped build houses, rebuild infrastructure and assisted getting the locals lives back in order. I would have gone, if only I could speak Spanish (see #3 above). To make a long story short (too late) I always regretted not going and would love to contribute to those in need. If only my Japanese was better...

20. Visit Antarctica

21. Go Zorbing!

22. Ride a camel

23. See Victoria Falls

24. Visit the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp in France. Because no one should ever forget what happened in the hope that it never happens again.

25. Walk on the Great Wall of China for Scott's 40th

26. See Ularu (aka Ayers rock). I am Australian and I kind of feel that I have let the country down because I haven't visited this national treasure

27. Visit big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. just so I can say "Look Kids! Big Ben! The Houses of Parliament"

28. Get the complete series of "Frontline" on DVD. The show is brilliant and spot on accurate.

29. Help Jess finish her thirty before 30

30. Participate in la Tomatina. Or in a worse case scenario, recreate it at home (outside preferably)

31. Organize/participate in a flash mob

32. Go to Bikini Atoll and witness the destructive power of nuclear weapons

33. Accentuate the positive

34. Carry around a paper bag of jelly babies and randomly say to people in a bad Tom Baker accent "Have a jelly baby"

35. Hold/organise a Guiness World Record breaking attempt event. Whether it be like the Strike A Chord for Cancer children's charity attempt at breaking the bikini world record, or attempting to beat the longest distance being pulled by a horse (currently just under 500m)... something special would be nice

36. Throw a paper plane off the observation deck of a tall building - to hell with the consequences!

37. Donate blood. It is something we should all do and every time I see a blood donation centre I think to myself "I must do that one day"

38. Attend the Galway International Oyster Festival

39. Give someone a pineapple for a present. Or even better, be known as the guy who only gives pineapples for presents

40. Keep a blog up to date - namely this one!

So that's the list. Is it a realistic obtainable list? I think so... for the most part. I at least certainly hope so. Only time will tell...

STATUS: 0/40 = 0%