FOUR'S BIRTHDAY WATCHALONG

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I was having a horrifying conversation with a friend WHO SHALL REMAIN NAMELESS TO CONCEAL THE MARINAS-TRENCH-LIKE DEPTHS OF HER SHAME the other night. She revealed that she had not seen a LOT of Four. You know, Four. The popular one. Scarf. Jewfro. That Four. HOW HAS THIS EVEN HAPPENED?! I know he doesn't seem to be peeling off his pantaloons with an alacrity for Crispy!Master, but dammit, Ainley!Master perved here first, kids, and if he can leer the paint off that wall you can at /least/ come along and glance at the woodwork underneath. That was a metaphor. I'm not entirely sure what of. Anyway.

I think a lot of people are Turned Off Four because he doesn't seem to flow neatly into the sequence of other Doctors--he's so alien he can seem not a part of the same man. I used to dislike him for just this reason. 'If the Doctor is (a large part of) what I'm here for, why should I bother with Scarfums McAloof? I'm not feeling a connection,' I said to myself out loud in a room full of people like a crazy/Ally McBeal.

BUT, slowly, with time and exposure, I really largely got over it. It's possible to satisfyingly understand Four as a reaction to Three and as precipitating Five in interesting ways, with rewarding attendant characterization. And he's a LOT of fun in his own right, my god. Four is in some ways the most Doctorish Doctor to ever Doctor Doctorly. He can be a joy to watch. While perhaps still not My Doctor (er, one of my four All Time Favorites, I can't pick for toffee) I have come to appreciate him sincerely. Plus Four's episodes have some of the best timing and writing in the series, and can be some of the most fun. PERFECT FOR A WATCHALONG, I THINK!!

TOMORROW NIGHT (the twenty-second) at 8 PM GMT, in celebration of Tom Baker's Birthday, we'll be watching some Classic Four Eps:



INSTRUCTIONS TO GET INTO CHAT: http://community.livejournal.com/best_enemies/251066.html



ANDROIDS OF TARA:

8:00 PM TO 10:00 PM

Romana I is Romana Fun. ...no she isn't (well, she's lovely and a good character, but she doesn't go out for drinks after work and get Totally Wasted and dance on the table except in a really awkward dream that Narvin doesn't like to talk about--she's not THAT kind of fun), but the Key to Time arc is well worth watching, with its Douglas Adams script editing, bright humor, solid sci-fi components, strong central conceit and general high quality. This one is based on Prisoner of Zenda, and has Romana in what aralias calls 'that amazing hat' and I call a genuine threat to my sanity.

CITY OF DEATH:

10:15 PM TO 12:00 AM

Then on to City of Death! To quote aralias:

City of Death is widely acknowledged by people who don’t like Genesis of the Daleks to be the best Four story, and even people who love Genesis admit that it is more fun than should be allowed. Four and Romana hang around in Paris exchanging Mona Lisas and jokes written by Douglas Adams. Romana wears a school girl outfit FOR SOME REASON. If you’ve read Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, the plot may well feel slightly familiar as Adam’s based the book heavily on that (and Shada, which is better with Eight – just saying). If you haven’t read Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, maybe you should do that after--

LOGOPOLIS:

12:15 AM TO 1:55 AM

And then Logopolis, which is not based on anything really, except the conclusion that Four/Ainley!Master would have been a sexy time. Seriously, it would have been, the Collaboration Scenes in Logopolis could give Three/Delgado!Master a serious run for money WHY ARE MORE PEOPLE NOT WRITING THIS WHEN THEY KNOW I NEED IT TO LIIIIIIIVE?!

THE FOODSTUFFS:

In honor of Four, the Food will be THE MOST RANDOM ITEMS POSSIBLE. And obligatory Jelly Babies, but largely: A COMPETITION FOR WEIRDEST FOOD ITEM, PICS/RECIPIES/CONVINCING TALES OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. alex_e_smith has a kangaroo out back (I shit you not, this woman is going to eat a kangaroo, that's so hard it's MADE OF DIAMONDS), so that's the one to beat. Can you do better? I think you can. It's almost Burns Night. Buy a haggis and rock. Not GROSS, mind you: just weird. Don't home-prepare that blowfish that has 151 steps to make it not-poisonous that you need a special license to work with, I'm not having your Horrible Histories-Esque Stupid Death on my conscience.


PLEASE THINK ABOUT SHOWING SOME LOVE ON THE FOUR POST, AS IT HAS BUT TWO RESPONSES AND THIS IS JUST SAD: http://community.livejournal.com/best_enemies/451138.html