(no subject)

Good morning! I've made some coffee and taken a cup up to the main house so I could internet. And I want to talk about the good this morning instead of being a big old whiner. Last night as I was crawling into bed to watch Caprica under the covers (thanks to taraljc loading me up with stuff to watch before I left Chicago), I looked out the door to my bedroom porch and there were two doggie noses pressed up against the glass, attached to two doggie back ends with tails wagging wildly enough to shake them. And, this being my bedroom in my house, I was able to simply open the door and be all 'FUZZY SLUMBER PARTY'. To which the doggies replied 'OH HELL YES' and promptly piled on my bed with the invitation, and after some minor direction along the lines of, 'No, you may not sleep *on top of me*' and 'I actually can't see the screen of my netbook if you will not stop licking my face' they found comfy spots in which to curl up.

Oh my god I have missed sleeping in the middle of a puppy pile. I sleep about ten times better, even accounting for the fact that Spot snores. And, though I was worried they would mess in the house (because they are mostly outside doggies), I just kept the bedroom door closed so they couldn't go out and pee on my couch or anything, and actually when they woke up at 6 am ready to use the little dog's room and resume their outdoor shenanigans they nudged me until I opened the door for them like very good doggies. I have the suspicion that I will be getting nightly doggie visits more often. Which, I do not blame them...dog run or comfy people bed with ear scritchies? I know which one I would choose.

So, YAY new house, which may not have internet or television yet, but does have doggie visits. :D

Doctor Who and Pint Sized Perspective

While I sit on the porch and wait for stuff to download for my sister-in-law, what's say we talk about Doctor Who. Note ahead of time, I may not be able to get to comments in a timely manner given the internet situation, but I will try and get to comments as soon as I can.

Anyway I want to start here with a premise and that is this, Doctor Who is, at its heart, a show for kids. To be more accurate, it is a show designed for family watching in that it wants everyone to be able to sit down together without parents wanting to stab their own eyeballs out with the nearest fork (and anyone who has had to sit through a lot of kid programming can appreciate that effort).

Living with tiny children again has been an eye opener on that front. My own was nearly grown before I ever discovered Who. But what I have discovered since watching with my niece and nephew is that often the very elements that we adult fans on the internet find repetitive/cheesy/juvenile/obnoxious/frustrating etc are the very same things that appeal to the under 10 set.

To be clear, I'm not saying we shouldn't watch and/or critique it from an adult perspective. Of course we should. It is also a show with a ton of layers and stories that (clearly) appeal and are designed to attract us too! And I know I've wanted a better balance on more than one occasion. And sometimes the shit we go 'wtf' at is the same thing the kiddies go 'wtf' at and vice versa. I am just saying that sometimes it is good when doing so to put yourself in the shoes of the pint sized and ask, is this bit/episode here meant for me or for them, and to take that into account. That it can't always be for both of us, though the show in general makes a mighty effort to try. And on the flipside, remember that some of the stuff meant for us leaves the kid crowd doing the 8 year old equivalent of bored filing their nails waiting for the next scene/episode.

This is not (though it is partly) in response to the reactions to the most recent episode, but just...something I've been thinking about in general since I started watching with tiny children, and it really has changed my perspective on how I look at the show as a whole and what it's doing when.

Thoughts?