Chicks Dig Fezzes

If you're a single man living in Boston, there's apparently one sure fire way to rectify that: dress like Matt Smith.

When my gaming/anime club attended Anime Boston this weekend, I wore my 11th Doctor costume, complete with a fez. I cannot tell you how many times I was stopped by fellow con-goers (mostly college girls) for a picture/chat/hug. I lost count somewhere around two dozen (on the first day of a three day event).

Oh yeah...

Matt Smith's popularity has had quite an impact on the world of fashion as well. Since he became the star of Doctor Who, sales of tweed jackets and bow ties have supposedly spiked in the United Kingdom. You couldn't wear a fez in public unless you lived in Northern Africa, but now, in Smith's own words "fezzes are cool." He's a man of danger, a man of adventure, and the most brilliant man in the universe. It's no wonder the Doctor (or people dressed like him) is so popular among women.

Anime Boston, Beantown's annual festival of everything geek, took place from April 22-24. Over 19,000 people from around the country crowded into AB for the even which describes itself as "New England's largest annual celebration of Japanese animation, comics, and pop culture". Hundreds (maybe thousands) of people wore costumes for the weekend, and I saw at least two dozen Doctors.

Not a great dancer though.

(Pictures courtesy of Marissa Tripp and Anime Boston)

Goodbye, Sarah Jane...

It's been a sad couple of days for the world of Doctor Who. As many of you know by now, we've lost Elisabeth Sladen, best known around the world as the Doctor's longest serving companion, Sarah Jane Smith. She died on Tuesday after a long struggle with cancer, aged 63.

Sladen started her long history with the greatest show in the galaxy in 1974 as a partner for 3rd Doctor Jon Pertwee, during his last season with the show. After Pertwee left, and regenerated into 4th Doctor Tom Baker, Sladen remained with the show for another two and a half seasons, departing from the TARDIS in late 1976.

Her character, Sarah Jane was seen as a departure from the women who came before her. She wasn't just some screaming siren who needed to be saved by the Doctor every week (although she was kidnapped sometimes). She was a character who could operate on the same level as the supremely intelligent Doctor, and sometimes solving problems before him.

Sarah Jane and Sladen were so loved by fans and producers, that she continued to be involved with the Doctor Who franchise after her departure. She starred in a pilot for an unsold spin-off  in 1981, five years after leaving the show. Sladen reprised her role yet again in 1983 and 1993, for the 20th and 30th Anniversary specials "The Five Doctors" and "Dimensions in Time".

Even when the new series of Doctor Who began in 2005, she kept returning. She appeared in an episode with 10th Doctor David Tennant in 2006, and became so popular with new fans, that she was finally given her own successful spin-off series in 2006, nearly thirty years after she first became a part of the show.

The future of her spin-off, "The Sarah Jane Adventures", is unknown; Sladen completed six episodes before her death. The producers of Doctor Who have said that a "suitable tribute" to her will air during the premiere show's sixth season this Saturday.

I'm no good at writing obituaries, and I couldn't say anything that hasn't already been said a million times. But I'll end with this: Rest in peace Mrs. Sladen. You've made millions of fans during your nearly four decades of acting, and you're already missed by them all.

Third time's the...ah, screw it.

I've talked about the concept of "so bad, it's good" in one of my previous entries, so consider this part two.

In the music industry, there's one man whose name is practically synonymous with unintentionally hilarious songs (apart from William Hung, or Soulja Boy, or Limp Bizkit, or Kevin Federaline, or...). One man whose foray from sci-fi television to the recording studio left behind a wave of unexpected fans (mostly dopeheads and masochists). Now he's doing it again. For a third time.

That's right. William Shatner is making a third album.

He first showcased his musical "talents", with his 1968 album The Transformed Man. The most famous track from this album has to be his cover of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man":

His unusual spoken-word performance style was presented to a wider audience a decade later, when he sang Elton John's "Rocket Man" at the Science Fiction Film Awards in 1978. How the audience made it through the whole thing without laughing, we'll never know:

He made a second album called Has Been in 2004, with help from some actual artists like Joe Jackson and Henry Rollins. Shatner's new album, scheduled for release later this year, is titled Searching For Major Tom. The track list, which has a distinct sci-fi theme, includes David Bowie's "Space Odyssey", Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", and a re-mix of "Rocket Man".

Just for the heck of it, here's one more Shatner gem. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds:

Only Two Weeks Until Doctor Who Season 6!

The new season of the nearly fifty year old TV show premiers on Saturday April 23rd! For the first time ever, the show is being taped in the United States (specifically in Utah) for a two part episode. Other stories include one written by fantasy writer Neil Gaiman, and another one rumored to feature the return of the original Cybermen.

Matt Smith will be reprising his role as the Eleventh Doctor, while Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill are returning to play his companions, Amy Pond and Rory Williams. Alex Kingston (of "ER" fame) will return in a recurring role as Dr. River Song. Season 6 will be aired in two parts, with seven episodes airing in Spring, and the remaining six airing in Autumn.

The BBC America trailer looks intriguing, complete with (among other creatures) pirates, nazis, and secret service agents. The equally interesting prelude to episode one features the President of the US (who may or may not be Richard Nixon) apparently getting a call from an alien.

Check 'em out!

"Alas Poor Picard, I Knew Him Horatio. (Or, Something Is Rotten In The State Of Gallifrey)"

It's almost like a crossover. Not quite, but almost.

The other night I watched a performance of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. Some of you may not be big fans of Shakespearean theater (I recently gained an interest, and am still working my way through his complete library), but it's worth watching just to see the Tenth Doctor and Jean-Luc Picard together in the same performance.

If you've never seen a performance of "Hamlet", nor read the script in high school, here's a quick rundown:  Claudius (played by Stewart in this version) is the brother of the King of Denmark (also Stewart). Claudius steals the throne by poisoning him in his sleep. The ghost of the King visits his son, Hamlet (Tennant), in his sleep, and tells him to avenge him.

This present-day production has a very dystopian atmosphere. The characters dress in modern attire and use modern technology, while the Danish (not as powerful today, as it was back in Shakespeare's time) monarchy still maintains complete control over the nation. It almost feels like a work of Science-Fiction. 

Like all of Shakespeare's work, the Olde-English in the dialouge can make it difficult to understand if you aren't entirely familiar with the story. As the author of a seldom read Sci-Fi blog, I'm hardly qualified to review it, but I'll just say that if you enjoy good drama (and are proficient in Olde-English), it's worth watching, especially just to see (SPOILER ALERT) the Doctor stab Capt. Picard.

On a semi-related note, William Shatner is a classically trained Shakespearean actor. They should have had him play Yorick.

You can watch the entire production (Along with "MacBeth", starring Patrick Stewart) here.