gordon_r_d sent me Presents...

[capri0mni]

Alas, I did not think of exchanging presents, this year... the idea completely slipped my mind (besides, I had no idea of anything he might want) until the very last minute.* I shall have to get him back for this. Oh, yes.

What he sent were a couple of DVDs from The Troughton Years ("The Mind Robber" and "The Invasion"). At first, I was a bit worried, because I've lost the owner's manual for the computer's DVD program, and that manual has the license code to activate legal ownership, and personalize settings. When I brought up the help menu for customer support, last year, it told me to call the number printed in the owener's manual... *headdesk*.

But, luckily, these disks played just fine, without any needed fiddling. And I must say:

1. The. More. I. See. Of Troughton. The More. I. LOVE.
   
   
2. And Black and White Sci-Fi Pwns Everything.
   
   Really. Futuristic dystopias and surrealistic, mind-bending, dreamscapes work best in black and white. Dystopias, because you can't really get the brooding shadows and grim, gritty atmosphere when you can see folks in the background wearing pink striped ties and purple socks. And dreamscapes work best in black and white because, even if we really do dream in color, the colors are more muted than when we're awake.



3. And I'm having fun with the extras on the DVDs, too (But, tell me, please: What does that episode of Basil Brush have to do with "The Mind Robber?" -- "Web of Fear," I'd understand, but)...

*(The whole Yuletide thing just whooshed over my head like the punchline to a very obscure joke, this year)

Comments

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes. That one, too... if I'm not mistaken, that's the first Who serial I used to introduce my Dad to the series.* He was hooked right away, and he "got" the character of the Doctor in a nutshell, saying something like: "He's the hero, not because he has any special power, but just because he has more experience than anyone else..."

Now that I know my DVD player actually works, I'll have to upgrade from the VHS copy of Tomb that I have...

*(I made a concerted effort not to start with a Tom Baker serial, because, in America, Tom is in full Saturation as the Doctor, and I wanted to disabuse my father of that notion. ... I also made him wait between watching episodes, to give him time to wonder about the cliffhangers, and squirm, a bit) ;-)

[alryssa.livejournal.com]

My mother started out watching it during Troughton's run. :)