Mini-Anti River Song blog with added Eric Roberts.

Earlier today I watched The Doctor Who series 6 episode "The God Complex". Three weeks of quality Doctor Who. It just goes to show it's back on form when ever River Song isn't wedged into the plot. Fantastic episode!
What was in The Doctor's room though? I'm guessing Eric Roberts as The Master. That is enough to make anyone pray to their God isn't it?

End of the Road Festival 2011

So the weekend of the 2-4th of September saw me and two friends attended the End of the Road Festival 2011. The End of the Road Festival is an annual music festival which focuses on alternative music. It is hosted at the Larmer Tree Gardens (Link), on the border of north Dorset and Wiltshire.
The festival is run over four stages: the Woods Stage, the Garden Stage, the Big Top Stage and the Tipi Tent, as well as a clearing in the woods around the Garden Stage containing a piano at which semi-secret sets take place. There are also children's areas and workshops, a healing field, a film tent, comedy, a library in the forest and a games area (ping pong, table football etc). Due to the nature of the gardens the festival is set in it is not unlikely to see peacocks wandering around the area and parrots in the trees.



The first thing that I noticed about EoTR I thought was absolutely fantastic was it's virtually in the middle of nowhere. It was great how you really needed a car to get there as it made it feel more private and special.
Camping wasn't overcrowded either. There was plenty of room to just chill out where we were and by the looks of it the campers around us had lots of room as well.
In the main event areas it was so relaxed and not overcrowded. There was a wonderful atmosphere and a real feeling of community. Compared to the other festivals I've been to this really was a family affair. All sorts of people were at EoTR. Parents with children, couples, people going solo and mates (the category I fell into) just chilling out listening to music. It was wonderful just to lay down on the grass and listen to bands.


Now the bands. I must admit beforehand I'd not really been paying attention to the line-up but looking back now I think this worked in my favor as I went in only knowing of a few of the acts.
I was really please to have come away from the weekend having discovered the likes of Josh T.Pearson, Micah P. Hinson, Tinariwen and The Secret Sisters. Without a doubt though one of the higlights musically of the festival was Bob Log III.
Bob Log III is an American slide guitar one-man band. During performances, he plays old Silvertone archtop guitars, wears a full body human cannonball suit, and a pilot's helmet wired to a telephone receiver, which allows him to devote his hands and feet to guitar and drums. The spectacle has been described as a guitar dance party.

I was lucky enough to see Bob for the first time at one of the late night secret gigs that take place in the Tipi Tent. I recommend you do a search for him on You Tube he won't dissapoint.

Of course the best thing of all about this weekend after the music was that kids and drunken adults shared the same spaces without bloodshed and no one set fire to anything like at certain other festivals I don't care to mention. for anyone who’s never been grab a ticket for next year asap and enjoy a different festival experience. I'll be going back in 2012 for sure.

River Song - The Doctor Who version of Marmite

Something isn't right. I was catching up with 2 weeks of Doctor Who over the weekend. And a long with the only other episode of series six I've really enjoyed (The Doctors Wife) I found myself loving "Night Terrors" and "The Girl Who Waited". Why you might ask? Well two words for you. River Song. She wasn't in them.

When River Song (played primarily by Alex Kingston) was first introduced to the series as an experienced future companion of the Doctor in the series 4 episodes "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead" I thought she was a fantastic character. One of Steven Moffat's coolest creations for the new show since it relaunched in 2005.
When the character was first introduced, much about her origins remained a mystery with only little bits of what could happen in the future being shared. Personally I never thought we would see her again after these two episodes with the 10th Doctor and that she was a character to forever go down in Who history as one of these great unanswered mystery's.

But alas I was wrong.

When Steven Moffat took over as the main producer of the show the first thing he did was reintroduce her. In itself not a problem BUT if I'd known he was going to spend his first two years of the show dedicating most of it to her I would of given it serious thought about not bothering to watch again.
No. I'm kidding, I was never going to stop watching the show but I just found myself turning into one of the very people that normally get on my nerves.


Now before you point out to me that River really hasn't been in that many episodes I'd ask you to look below.

The following is a list of appearances by River Song. All appearances feature her final incarnation, with other incarnations specified.

Series 4

Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead
Journey's End - Flashback only (archive footage).

Series 5

The Time of Angels / Flesh and Stone
The Pandorica Opens / The Big Bang

Series 6

The Impossible Astronaut / Day of the Moon (appeared as River Song and as a little girl)
A Good Man Goes to War / Let's Kill Hitler (appeared as a baby, Mels and River Song)

As you can see above she has had nearly a whole season of shows dedicated to her and if you go back and watch them it becomes more and more obvious (like I've been convinced for a while now) that Moffat is just making it up as he goes a long.
I was pleased to see that I wasn't the only one who thought this as well having read that The Daily Telegraph Journalist Neil McCormick also thought that her sudden introduction as Rory and Amy's childhood friend in "Lets Kill Hitler" proved that Moffat was making it up as he went along.

River Song has outstayed her welcome in the show now.
I had so much faith when Moffat took over the show I now long for the return of Russell T Davies because at least he didn't try to come across as smug and smart in his story arcs leaving a lot of people confused and frustrated in the process.

The sooner River Song goes the better. I would say hurry up and kill her off but we already know when that happens don't we.

One last thing. I think 2000AD Artist Christ Weston sums up the show at the moment very nicely.

"Doctor Who seems to be doing its best to alienate the casual viewer and frustrate the faithful... it's convoluted and complicated, but in much the same way a toddler's scribbles can be.
It's as if the creators can't trust the viewers to stay hooked just through quality... It's like having a kid screaming, 'I know something you don't know … but I'm not telling' in your face non-stop for 45 minutes."