Plex

As you may know, I have a fairly large movie library. Well, it's larger than most people I know. Over 1,500 movies and growing.

One thing I like to do is have my movies available to me, both at home and when I'm away from home. I don't know why I'd want my movies when I'm away from home, but I do. It seems like something I'd like to do.

Since most of my movies -- over 1,200 -- were purchased from iTunes (or through other services that are part of Movies Anywhere), I have them available on my iPad. They aren't available on my Android phone though. Well, a little over 700 are (the Movies Anywhere movies), but the rest aren't.

At home, I'm running iTunes and have downloaded all of my iTunes movies to the computer. I've also ripped out my DVDs and loaded the files into iTunes. That's over 6 TB in video content (that's movies and TV shows). I'm able to watch all of that through my Apple TV. However, I have to be at home to watch it all -- specifically, the content ripped from DVD. I can't watch my ripped DVDs away from home.

Well, a while back, I tinkered with Plex. It was okay, but iTunes was really easy. Besides, at the time, it worked on Roku, but not on Apple TV. It also won't play copy-protected content. I didn't have a single source for all my content other than iTunes, and that was only on Apple TV.

I've decided to take a second look at Plex, now. There are apps for Plex on iOS and Android devices, on Roku, on Apple TV, and most other platforms. So, I can play all of my non-DRM content through Plex.

Well, as good as all that is, I still want a single source for everything. I purchase my content -- I've even purchased the streaming version of content I already had on DVD in order to watch it anywhere -- and I don't pirate content. I just want to be able to watch my content that I bought. I'm not gonna give it to anyone else. I'm not gonna sell it to anyone else. I want it for my own personal viewing.

Since I don't mind ripping DVDs, I don't mind removing copy-protection from my personal local copy of purchased digital content. I'm not advocating that others do that, because I know some people that will turn around and attempt to profit from the work of others. Not me. All of my purchases are for my use only.

Anyway, I set up Plex on my Windows desktop computer and copied over all of my DVD movies from iTunes. All of the content I had ripped out from DVD. I did some file renaming to fit the Plex suggested naming conventions. Then a little bit of housekeeping to ensure everything looked good.

Whaddaya know? I had a good working Plex server and movie library of over 200 films. I was almost impressed with myself. Then I saw the names of all the movies. Most of them are not available streaming for a reason. Lots of really bad films -- I not only have all of the MST3K episodes, I have as many of the actual movies they riffed as I can find. That's a lot of really bad movies. Some I got from a "50 Classic Science Fiction Movies" collection. It was cheap for a reason. And I not only ripped out the MST3K-inspiring films, I ripped out all I could (some discs didn't rip at all but I'm not gonna pursue that; I'm happy with the 45 movies I got from it). So, I got around 300 movies from DVD, and the vast majority are movies I wouldn't really want to watch anyway.

Still, I'm committed to this. All of my DVDs are now in Plex, and I've begun ripping the digital purchases. That includes the first ten seasons of Doctor Who (classic seasons), or at least, the digital releases. Each night, I'll set up some digital TV episodes to rip, and the next night I'll set up some digital movies to rip. I'll probably switch over to Christmas movies and specials this week.

It's gonna take me a while to finish this. But, I have been able to do a little bit each day. By the time I'm 96, I should just about be done. Wish me luck!

In Which We All Lost Our Innocence

November 17, 1978. A day which will live in infamy.

That's the day the Star Wars Holiday Special aired on CBS.

Those of us that went to see the original Star Wars movie many times in the theaters just a year earlier were eagerly anticipating this special. What we got was a grand awakening of things to come.

The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 was great. Return of the Jedi in 1983 was good. Yes, despite the Ewoks. Those of us who saw the Holiday Special were not shocked by the Ewoks. Nor were we shocked by the Prequels that came years later. We all realize just how bad Star Wars could be.

And, in case you were (or still are) a Star Wars fan, and in case you missed the Holiday Special, well, here you go.


[The YouTube]

Remember, this was followed up by The Empire Strikes Back. No matter how bad things seem during the moment, things will can get better.

You're welcome.

Android TV (Mi Box)

Image: Xiaomi

I've tried different streaming devices over the years: Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and TiVo. They all have their good points and bad points. Any of them would be a good choice for streaming. One or another my be better or worse for any particular individual based on the where they want to get their streaming data from. For example, if someone is big into iTunes or has a lot of Apple devices, the Apple TV is probably the best option. If someone is totally immersed in Amazon, the Fire TV might be the best option. There's no one answer that's right for everybody.

Recently, I added another streaming device to my collection: the Android TV player, Mi Box.

It's a cheaper alternative to the Nvidia Shield, which is the Flavor of the Month for many of the Kool Kidz that stream. Personally, as intrigued as I might be by the Nvidia Shield, I'm not going to put out $180 just to test something. The $69 I shelled out for the Mi Box was the upper limit on that kind of silliness.

So, just to be clear, I haven't used the Nvidia Shield. However, it and the Mi Box are both Android TV devices. The Google Play Store apps for one will work on the other. I know there are ways to side load content onto the Nvidia Shield, but I'm not interested in that. If you are, you can find videos on The YouTube. I'm not interested. I'm looking for stuff that anybody can go into a store or purchase online, take the device, and use. No jumping through hoops. Simple. That's my focus.

Anyway, my point there is what I'm writing about the Mi Box is mostly applicable to any Android TV device.

What I like about the device is that it's easy to set up and use. It's very responsive. It supports 4K, though I don't have a 4K TV. It comes with some common popular apps already installed. It even comes with an HDMI cable included. It doesn't take long to get up and running.

But, what do I not like about it? Well, apart from the pre-installed or recommended apps, it's not that easy to get all the apps you might want through the standard interface. If you have the Play Store installed, you can browse the limited selections there. There are more apps available than show on the Google Play Store app on the Android TV device. While they do show many of the biggest, that's not always the case. For instance, Spotify doesn't show when browsing on the device, though Pandora does.

A slightly better option is to use the voice search to search for apps. For example, to install the Boomerang app, I couldn't find it when I searched for "Boomerang," but did when I searched for "Boomerang app."

Another option is to search for apps from the Google Play Store Website. As with the voice search, simply searching for the app name might not be good enough. I had to search for "Boomerang for Android TV" to find that app.

One major omission, at least in my opinion, is that DirecTV Now isn't supported on Android TV. Philo isn't either. Sling TV is, Hulu with Live TV is, and YouTube TV is, so it has most of the major live streaming services.

If you've used Chromecast, it may be useful to know that Android TV devices have Chromecast built in. You can stream from your computer, your Android phone or tablet, or iOS apps that support Chromecast.

If you're looking for a good streaming device, particularly an Android TV device, the Mi Box is a good choice. It's not my top choice, because of the limited number of apps, but it's a good little device.

Fox News streaming

Got a text the other day from our old buddy Paul at the Mean Ol' Meany blog. Turns out he finally got fed up with cable and satellite when the bill topped $160/month.

Actually, Mrs. Paul -- not the fish stick lady, but Paul's wife -- got fed up with it. And she tasked him to find a better solution. And it had to have Fox News. Live. Not some day-old videos of stuff, but live Fox News Channel.

So, Paul asked for some advice, and I gave it my best shot. He took my suggestions and information into consideration, made a decison, and now all is happy at Paul's house.

That's when it occurred to me that others might want to cut cable but still get Fox News, or some other news channel that isn't crowded with life-long Democrats, socialists, and other criminals.

So, if you are in the same situation as Paul and his lovely lady -- you want to cut cable but still want certain channels -- maybe I can offer some advice. Maybe.

We're going to primarily focus on Fox News, since that's what Paul was asking, and since it's probably the least leftist news channel.

Now, there are a bunch of streaming services that are basically small cable packages. Only you get them via Internet streaming than by cable TV or a satellite dish. They're cheaper than most cable packages, but don't have 500 channels.

Sling TV, Philo, DirecTV Now, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue, and YouTube TV are the ones I've tested. They all have their good points.

If you want Fox News, we can rule out Sling TV and Philo right now. All the others have Fox News Channel as part of their cheapest package. So, DirecTV Now, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue, and YouTube TV are all good streaming options when it comes to offering Fox News Channel.

YouTube TV and PlayStation Vue are both $40/month. Hulu with Live TV is, too, but that price includes regular Hulu on-demand service ($8/month). So, if you already subscribe to regular Hulu, you'd only be adding $32/month to the bill. DirecTV Now is $35/month.

So, it comes down to add-ons and other channels.

If you want HBO, DirecTV Now only wants another $5/month for that, the best HBO add-on price.

If you want sports, all the services except Philo include ESPN and ESPN2. That's important to me and is important to Paul. YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV both include ESPNU and ESPNews. Hulu with Live TV also includes Fox Sports and SEC Network.

PlayStation Vue and DirecTV Now both require their $50/month package to get ESPNU and ESPNews plus SEC Network, Fox Sports, and other channels.

So, for viewing stuff like Paul and I do, the Hulu with Live TV package is probably the best package for the money. However, like most everything else, it really depends on what you're looking for.

If you've been thinking about cutting the cord, but didn't want to miss certain stuff, do some research into what these different packages offer. You might find you can save a buck or two.

On Netflix

First, let me say up front that I don't subscribe to Netflix.

I used to subscribe to Netflix. But, I never watched.

Actually, I did watch it when Mystery Science Theater 3000 came back as a Netflix series. I had dropped it earlier, and dropped it again when I watched all the episodes. With the other streaming services I have, I found that I never watched Netflix. So, I quit spending the money for something I didn't watch.

Now that we have that out of the way, I want to talk about people dropping Netflix.

You see, some people who don't like Barack Obama are ticked off at Netflix because they signed the former president and his wife to produce a show. How ticked off? Some people are canceling their Netflix subscription.

Of course, some of you know that I don't like the Obamas. I have no use for them. But, I wouldn't cancel Netflix on account of the Obama deal. That might surprise some of you.

Look at it like this.

ABC airs The View, which is just a bunch of left-wing women running their mouths. But, they also aired Last Man Standing, which had a lead character with a right-wing stance.

Boycotting ABC because they aired The View would have also hurt Last Man Standing. The proper thing to do would be not watch The View but do watch Last Man Standing.

I'd take the same approach with Netflix. I'd watch what I liked, and not watch what I didn't.

Any other approach doesn't make sense.

Now, I don't plan to subscribe to Netflix in order to not watch the Obamas. But, I won't let me let the Obamas stop me from subscribing to Netflix. I just need them to offer something I do want to watch.

Like a new season of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Quantum Leap

©1993, 2017 NBCUniversal Media, LLC

I used to enjoy watching Quantum Leap. The only reason I stopped was because the show ended. When I went to Korea in 1993, I missed a bit of the last season. However, as you'll see in a minute, I really didn't miss much.

I'm not saying I no longer like the show, but I'd forgotten how stupid it was at times, particularly there towards the end.

Hulu has the show. I've been watching the episodes from the beginning. There have been a couple that I didn't remember, so I may have missed them along the way. I've still missed one episode. Season 2's "Disco Inferno" isn't available from Hulu. I don't know why. Maybe something to do with the music from the episode and difficulty in getting streaming rights. On the other hand, it's available for streaming through Amazon, so that may not be the reason.

Anyway, I managed to watch 94-96 of the 95-97 episodes. It depends on how you count them. You see, the first episode was a TV movie that was broken into two episodes for reruns and syndication. Season 5 opened with the two hour episode about Lee Harvey Oswald. So, if you count them as two episodes each, there were 97 episodes. If you count each two-hour episode as a single episode, there were 95 episodes. Either way, I've missed one, the aforementioned "Disco Inferno."

Oh, and I'm not even attempting to count the Season 3 two-parter "The Leap Home Parts 1 & 2" as a single episode, since it aired on two separate nights. The episodes aired as separate episodes. Neither am I counting Trilogy as three, or even two, episodes. They had separate o -screen credits, and separate production codes, so I'm counting them as separate episodes. The pilot and Oswald actually double-length episodes that were broken out in reruns and syndication. The other multi-part episodes were not broken apart after airing. They were always as they were.

Anyway, the whole concept of traveling through time has always been fascinating. The show was well written -- for the most part -- and well acted -- for the most part. And, I've enjoyed the episodes. For the most part.

Sure, there's the suspension of disbelief with any science fiction show. But some episodes were just too much. I did enjoy most, though. The pilot, where he leapt into a pilot and broke Mach 3, was an enjoyable episode. The one based on Driving Miss Daisy was good, even though it wasn't based on movie Driving Miss Daisy. The episode "The Color of Truth" first aired on 3 May 1989, and Driving Miss Daisy didn't hit theaters until 15 December 1989. It could have been based on the play, which opened off-Broadway in April 1987 and was on nation tour in 1988. Those episodes were the ones that grabbed me as a fan and didn't let go.

Season 2 was when things first hinted at the things I didn't like. Remember the one where the housekeeper turned out to be a ghost? Yeah, I didn't care for that one. If they hadn't shown her fading out, but had her leave and then had the drowning victim turn out to greatly resemble her, that would have been fine. But, no, they showed her fading out, meaning she was a ghost. I'm willing to accept junk science. I'm not willing to accept ghosts.

The episode "The Boogieman," where Sam inspired a young Stephen King, was another that crossed the line. The evil Al and the evil disappearing goat ruined it for me. The one where he leapt into the chimpanzee? Not a fan. The one where the lady he ran over in the cab was an angel? Too much. Just like the one where he found the mummy in Egypt. Old Ptah-Hotep coming to life and killing the bad guy? Yeah, not a fan of that.

The last season featured Evil Leaper was kinda hokey. It seemed like one of those plotlines that they added to spice up the show. Like when The Time Tunnel added the silver aliens, taking the show away from its time travel roots. Jumping the shark, so to speak. The final season also had the one where Sam's character being taken off by the aliens in the flying saucer. Oh, and the one where the guy ended up actually being a vampire. And the one where Bigfoot helped out.

All that, plus they changed the theme song to an arrangement that seemed better fit for The A-Team, meant that, to me, the final season wasn't that great. I did like the final episode, though, even though it was a bit odd. Al got a happy ending, even if Sam never made it home.

Yeah, I'm complaining a lot about some episodes of the show, but overall, I enjoyed the show. I don't know if it would do for there to be a reboot of the show or bring it back in any way. It was a product of its time, and I enjoyed. Well, most of it. It's over and done. But, with Hulu, I can watch it again any time I want. And, I did. But I'm done now.

Hulu with Live TV

Since I cut the cord in early 2011, I've tried several different ways to get certain content on TV. Sports is what I'm talking about.

I like college football. When I cut the cord in 2011, I waited until after the college bowl season was done. I had purchased a Roku in 2010, but kept cable until after football season because there was no other way to watch the games from home.

Thankfully, that's no longer the case. For sports, I've tried Sling TV ($25/month for package and add-on with all ESPN channels), DirecTV Now ($50/month for package with all ESPN channels), and PlayStation Vue ($45/month for a package with all the English language ESPN channels). Best price is Sling TV for what I want.

Right now I'm trying a different service: Hulu.

Okay, it's the Hulu with Live TV service. That's Hulu, but with Live TV. Which puts Hulu as another service similar to Sling TV, DirecTV Now, and PlayStation Vue.

Hulu is normally $8/month. That's been serving as my "cable service" since 2011. Recently, they added a Live TV service. It's $40/month. Not an additional $40/month, but it works out to an additional $32/month.

On the face of it, it still looks like Sling TV is a better deal because Hulu and Sling TV together totals $33/month ($8/month + $25/month) as opposed to $40/month. But things are never that simple.

All of the live TV services has problems. They're buggy. They will buffer a lot. It's nearly impossible to watch a game on any of those services, in my experience. So, I use the service to authenticate against the ESPN app (or the WatchESPN app, depending on the platform). The ESPN app is much more stable for live streaming than those live TV service apps.

As for what channels these services offer, here's a chart provided by Roku. It has a few flaws, such as the same channel listed twice (ESPN2 vs ESPN 2, TCM vs Turner Classic Movies, etc).

So, for now, it's $7/month more for Hulu with Live TV vs Hulu and Sling TV. But, I get two streams with Hulu Live TV vs Sling TV's 1 stream (unless I want their $40 four-stream service). I also get more app authentications.

For your purposes, is Hulu with Live TV a good deal? I don't know. I will say that it offers support for more apps than Sling TV does. The downside is Apple TV-related. Sling TV supports Single Sign On, while none of the other services support it.

I may keep this one. This is the first service to threaten Sling TV's position as my go-to service for accessing sports.

Hating TiVo

I don't really hate TiVo. In fact, I love my TiVo devices and the TiVo service. Sure, they're expensive, but they are top notch devices and the service is outstanding. Let me emphasize again, I love TiVo. But, I also hate it.

The problem isn't the cost. I willingly spent the money for devices and for lifetime service.

I first got a TiVo device back in 2006, and have been a fan through all the years, upgrading as time went on. And, after my pleasure of working with a TiVo Roamio, I was excited when the features of the newer TiVo was announced a couple of years ago. I was ready to upgrade my TiVo Premiere and anxiously awaited the release date.

Then I saw one.



I am not putting something that looks like that in my house. I don't know what kind of crack they were smoking, but I won't get near that thing.

Sure, the specs are great. And, if it looked like something a normal person would have in their house, I would have bought one when it came out.

But, I'm not spending my hard-earned money on something so stupid looking as that.

So, I decided to wait. Surely, they'll make something that a sane human being wouldn't be ashamed to be seen near. But, as the years have passed, there's been no indication that they're going to fix that abomination any time soon.

I've spent a decent amount of money over the years, purchasing a Series2 (that should have been my first indication that their brains were cockeyed when they left out the space between "Series" and "2"), a Series3, multiple Premiere, and a Roamio.

Speaking of Roamio (stupid name, another flag I missed), I have an OTA that is sitting in a box. But, where I want to use it -- that is, where I currently have a Premiere running -- has a cable package. There's no antenna, and the location is far enough away from TV towers that an indoor antenna won't do the job. And I'm not going to go through the time, trouble, and expense of putting up a sufficient tower and antenna. So, there's a Premiere still running there, not a Roamio (which I'd buy if I could find a new one that supported cable card) or a Bolt (which looks stupid as hell).

So, I'm hating on TiVo. The dumbasses at TiVo that came up with the idea of the appearance of the Bolt, and the dumbasses who won't put a decent-looking device out in its place.

I'll just keep my money.

MST3K: Completing the library?

I wrote before about having a full library of all the video releases of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Shout Factory has continued to release volumes since I originally wrote that.

Volumes XXXVI, XXXVII, and XXXVIII have been released, as well as re-releases of Volumes 2, 3, 4, and 5. And, yes, I have them.

Volume XXXIX would normally be released this summer, based on the schedule Shout Factory has maintained since they took over the releases in late 2008. And they normally announce the next volume when a volume hits the stores.

This time, they didn't.

What they did do was announce that the complete Cinematic Titanic collection would be released in August. That's around the time of the normal MST3K summer volume release (traditionally, late July).

So, why no annoucement? Why Cinematic Titanic instead of a new collection of MST3K? I dunno. But I've never let that stop me.

In case you aren't aware, Cinematic Titanic was Joel Hodgson's project that, like Mystery Science Theater 3000, had a crew riffing on movies. Like RiffTrax -- from Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett, who were Mike, Tom and Professor Bobo, and Crow and Brain Guy on MST3K -- they pretty much were themselves in the riffing. Like MST3K, they used silhouettes over the movie.

Cinematic Titanic ran from 2007 to 2013 with DVDs and live shows. Since it's from MST3K creator Joel Hodgson and featured MST3K stars Trace Beaulieu (Dr. Forrester/Crow), Frank Conniff (TV's Frank), Mary Jo Pehl (Pearl Forrester), and J. Elvis Weinstein (Dr. Erhardt/Tom Servo), it's quite closely related to MST3K. And, it seems that Shout Factory is using the complete CT catalog to fill in for the summer release. At least, that's how I see it.

Anyway, we're not sure if we've reached the end of MST3K releases, or if we're simply close to the end.

As of this writing, there are only 13 national classic episodes that have never been released in any form (that is, Rhino VHS, Rhino DVD, or Shout DVD):

• Rocketship X-M
• Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster
• It Conquered the World
• Fire Maidens of Outer Space
• Attack of the The Eye Creatures
• Girls Town
• The Amazing Transparent Man
• Terror from the Year 5000
• I Was a Teenage Werewolf
• The Deadly Bees
• The Space Children
• Quest of the Delta Knights
• Diabolik

There's one other, The Amazing Colossal Man that has never been on DVD, but was released on VHS.

None of these are public domain, so rights have to be negotiated. Only two are likely for release: The Amazing Transparent Man and Quest of the Delta Knights (Source: Travis Hosey).

Shout Factory may never get rights to some of these. I'd personally be fine with them releasing any they could, with inclusion of previously-release solo items padding out to fill a four-pack. For example, Shorts Volume 3 was only on Rhino VHS and as a bonus disc on early issues of The Essentials (Rhino). That would be great to have for fans that didn't get those early or limited editions.

Some of the solo-only episodes would be great, too:

• Beginning of the End
• Red Zone Cuba
• The Wild Wild World of Batwoman
• Manos: The Hands of Fate

There are also some that were released on Rhino that have never been released on Shout Factory.

• Eegah
• I Accuse My Parents
• The Crawling Hand
• The Hellcats
• Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Technically, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians was never a solo release, but part of the aforementioned two-episode The Essentials DVD release along with Manos: The Hands of Fate and, for limited pre-orders, Shorts Volume 3.

I wouldn't mind Volume XXXIX consisting of packaging some of the solo-only releases. For example, a Super Essentials with Manos: The Hands of Fate, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Shorts Volume 3, and maybe the full versions of Poopie and Poopie II (their bloopers reels) as the fourth disc. The uncut versions of the two films would make great Bonus Disc materials. They'd even make good replacements for the interviews and features that have been staples of the releases.

Volume XL could be one (or two) of the unreleased items for which Shout Factory has or can get rights, padded with Tom Servo's All Time Favorite Host Segments volumes 1-5, The MST Scrapbook, and The Last Dance - Raw (though that would be great to pair with Diabolik, should it ever see the light of day.

Perhaps they could even work out a deal with RiffTrax for some of their public domain movies they riffed to be released.

Now, I firmly believe that if Shout Factory were to release anything other than four previously unreleased episodes, they'd get complaints. Heck, they've received complaints about some of the four-packs of unreleased materials. Some people live to bitch, moan, and complain.

Anyway, I'm not sure if we're on the home stretch, of if we've actually crossed the finish line.

Oh, and I've not even mentioned the KTMA episodes. Word is they exist. I've seen them, or tapes of broadcasts from episode 4 on. They're rough. They're not the quick-paced riffing we're used to, because it was all ad-libbed. Still, there are some gems there. But that's a topic for a whole 'nuther day.

Gettin' ready for the new MST3K

You knew it was coming back on the 14th, right?


[The YouTube]

Yep, Mystery Science Theater 3000 is back -- or will be back, really soon. Like a week and a half. Not even that long. On the 14th. So, yeah, soon.

Are you ready? I'm not. But I'm getting ready.

First, I need to subscribe to Netflix. I don't ever watch Netflix, what with Hulu and iTunes and Amazon and TiVo and everything. I had Netflix, but never watched it, so I stopped paying for it. Plus they ticked me off about something, but I don't remember just what. Anyway, I'll need to subscribe to Netflix, since that's where you can watch it.

Also, I thought about watching the old episodes again, but I watch the occasional episode every week anyway, so I'm not doing that. I actually did that before, back in 2011 & 2012. I started at the beginning, with the KTMA episodes. You can't buy them, but you can find them if you look hard enough. Honestly, unless you have those on a bucket list, it's like a pre-season football game. It doesn't really satisfy, but you can see them training and growing and working the kinks out. Some of the host segment are really good, so good they were redone for the national series. If you want to read my reviews of the KTMA episodes, start here.

If you want to start with the official Season One, start here. I watched them in the original airdate order, which is slightly different than most episode lists you see. It only makes a difference in a couple of places but the first season has one of those places.

If you want to just look at the overall review of all the episodes, videos, and what-not, try this link. Use the sidebar to go to particular ones you want. Or, just watch them in order (if you own them or can find them) and see if you think about them like I do.

Anyway, what I've been doing that's MST3K related is finding the original uncut, unedited, un-MSTied versions of the movies and shorts that aired and watching them. Why? I dunno. Maybe to see what the MST3K crew had to go through. Maybe just to say I did. That last one seems more likely, knowing me like I do.

But what about you? What are you doing to get ready for the relaunch of MST3K?

Cutting the cord: Live TV

I've been a cord-cutter for nearly six years. I got a Roku and Apple TV in late 2010 and dropped cable in early 2011. Since then, I've streamed my TV content. But, if you've read this blog before, you probably know that. Unless you forgot. But now I've reminded you, so we're good to get to the point.

Well, in a minute. First, more backstory. Or information. Or something.

Once you drop cable, unless you put up an antenna, or don't really drop cable and get a cheap locals-only package, you can't watch any live TV. Services like Hulu let you watch stuff within hours of airing. Purchasing content from iTunes or Amazon or some such service does too. In fact, apart from live content like news/opinion programs and sports, just about everything you want to watch is available from Hulu, iTunes, Amazon, and the like. When I cut cable, I lost live sports and news/opinion shows, but nothing else.

For me, it was cheaper than paying for cable. It might be for you, and there are Websites that help you with that kind of research and decision. Rather than being rare behavior, cutting the cord, as it's called, is becoming more common. It's a new market for companies. So, what can they offer that Hulu, iTunes, and Amazon can't?

Live TV. For people that want to watch live sports -- me, for instance -- or people that can't wait a few hours to watch Game of Thrones, the live TV option has value. And more and more services are starting up. One of the first was Sling TV, which I've tried and like. There's PlayStation Vue, which I've tried, but don't like so much. And there's DirecTV Now, which I'm currently trying out.

The services are similar, but aren't exactly the same.

Tom Neyman

You might not know who Tom Neyman is. Heck, when I heard he died, I had to ask "Why do I know that name?" I'm sorry to say that I didn't place him at first. And, if you didn't, Tom Neyman was the actor that played The Master in Manos: The Hands of Fate.

If you have seen Mystery Science Theater 3000, then you've probably seen the classic episode that featured that movie. It's one of the most famous episodes, not just for the terribly awfully horribly bad movie, but the short "Hired Part 2" as well as the Chocolate Rabbit Guillotine. A truly classic episode with top-notch riffing. (I wrote my full review of it here.)

Now, how many of you have seen the actual, full, unriffed movie? I have. And, yes, it is truly bad. However bad you thought it would be while watching it with Joel and the Bots, it is. Maybe even worse. But maybe not. I didn't hate it.

That's not because it's not a bad movie. I just told you it is. But, the fun, the joy, the thrill of watching the MST3K version colored my watching of the movie. Even without the riffing, it was great to see Torgo talk about the Master, and to actually see the Master.

I'm going to stop talking about the movie since we're back on topic. The Master. Tom Neyman. He died this weekend.

He lived long enough to see that terrible little film he worked on 50 years ago rise from obscurity to become the most beloved bad film of all time. And the sequel -- yes, there is a sequel -- is in post-production, according to IMDB.

I truly hope the recognition, even for being in a bad film, brought joy to Mr. Neyman in his later years. I'm looking forward to seeing the sequel. And seeing the rebooted MST3K riffing it.

Pub-D-Hub

I got my first Roku device in early 2011. And I've been a big fan of Roku ever since.

For those that don't know, Roku is a device to allow you to stream online content to your TV. I've written a little about it, but there are Websites dedicated to the whole topic. Here's one that has a lot of good info.

Anyway, Roku has a lot of apps (they call them "channels") that offer a wide variety of content. Just about anything you'd want. Anything. Yep.

Of course, it has all the major services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Google Play, HBO, Sling TV, ... well, the list goes on and on.

One little app that I enjoy, though, is called Pub-D-Hub. And, like the name indicates, it's a hub for public domain content. ("Pub-D hub" get it?) I don't like that the Website is a ".info" address -- that just screams spammer -- but my concerns have been alleviated over the years.

Pub-D-Hub has a decent amount of public domain content. Sure, it's all free content that you can get from other places, but I like the fact that I don't have to search all over for it. It puts a lot of stuff all in one place. It's convenient.

Pub-D-Hub also has a "Gold" package. Now, charging for public domain content? Not cool. But, I don't mind it in this instance. First, the price is really cheap. It's less than $5/year. I don't know but I strongly suspect the subscriptions from me and from others helps defer, and maybe even fully cover, the cost of running the servers. I suspect that if it does -- and I'm not even sure it does -- that it barely does.

Next, it's not really mandatory to get the Gold package to use the service. It offers more, but there's still plenty to watch using just the free plan.

The Gold plan doesn't get rid of commercials. The free plan doesn't insert commercials. Pub-D-Hub is one of the few free services that doesn't interrupt content with advertising.

The Website isn't some slick, Netflix or Hulu looking Website. It's functional and easy to use. Not a lot of extra bells and whistles, but they aren't needed.

Content is updated regularly. Monthly for free plans and weekly (Sundays) for Gold plans. And, like I said, it's public domain content.

Old movies. Episodes of old TV shows. Classic TV commercials. Educational films. Old time radio programs. Newsreels.

I enjoy watching content from Pub-D-Hub. If you have a Roku, check it out.

Doctor Who fans, you knew I'd mention this...

>Okay, Doctor Who fans, you knew I'd mention this. The accompanying image is where The Doctor told Osgood, "Basil."

Now, if you're not a fan of the show, you won't care. If you're a fan, but haven't seen the episode that aired this past weekend, well, *SPOILERS*

Kinda.

If you saw the episode, you saw that The Doctor told Osgood that his first name was "Basil."

(Oh, and shameless plug for Larynn's review of the episode over at Doctor Who LaB.)

Now, who among you were actually surprised when The Doctor said his name was Basil? Did you really think he would say "Frank" or "Harvey" or "Sarah" or "Mr. Right" or "Spacemonkey" or "Lactose the Intolerant" or "Keln." Not that those aren't good names. They're perfectly fine names. But, for The Doctor, does any name fit more than Basil? Okay, maybe Spacemonkey. But, really, when you think Doctor Who don't you really think "Basil?"

Of course you do. And so does Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi and everyone else who works on the show or watches the show.

I'm unsure whether to say "thank you" or "you're welcome." Either will do.

Twilight Zone Trivia

One of these is not like the others. Only a true Twilight Zone fan will know which. I knew right from the start. But, do you?


[The YouTube]

By the way, if you have to guess, you'll probably not get it right. But, if you know, you know. I'll give you until tonight.

Okay, if you want a hint (another one; yes, you already have one), it happened on the show three times, but only once in this video. That ought to be a useless enough hint.

UPDATE: The answer is in the comments.

Doctor Who - Epilogue

The Doctor

As I watched all the episodes of the Classic Doctor Who show, I wrote my thoughts down. Then, when I was done, I mulled over going ahead and watching the newer stuff. That meant watching The Movie, and Paul McGann's Doctor. So, I did. Had to buy it, sight unseen.

Eh. McGann himself was okay, but I didn't like The Doctor being involved with a companion. Sure, there's no question that The Doctor and Ramona had a thing going on, but that was off-screen. The show wasn't about that, it was about Adventures In Time And Space. I loved that Sylvester McCoy opened the movie as The Doctor. He never explained how he had destroyed Skaros but then was able to travel to Skaros and get The Master's body.

And, they should have had Anthony Ainley reprise the role of The Master for the opening. Or at least used his image from clips and paid him for that. Nothing wrong with Eric Roberts' portrayal.

And, after watching The Movie, I watched the other episodes (the newer ones, from 2005 on) and specials. And Webisodes.

Yeah, it's okay. But, there are things I didn't like. And, me being me, I'm gonna tell you what I didn't like. I'll assume you have seen the newer episodes, and specials, and webisodes, up to and including Peter Capaldi's Doctor asking Clara if she knew how to fly the TARDIS.

The Doctor and companions being more than simple companions? Don't like it. Maybe that's why I really like the dynamic with The Doctor and Donna. She is truly a friend of The Doctor. The relationship was more like The Doctor (2.0) and Jamie. That worked well. And The Doctor and Donna worked well.

Rose? Not a fan. Even her surprise appearances don't thrill me. The Brigadier's occasional returns were treats. Rose's? Not so much. Rose should've ended up with Mickey. Not the early Mickey, but the later Mickey.

Martha? Good companion, but the whole "feelings" thing was what ruined that. Her ending up with Mickey was good, for both of them. I'd like to see them return.

Donna? Love her. She's up there with Sarah Jane Smith and Jamie McCrimmon in the whole hierarchy of companions.

Amy and Rory? Yeah, they're good. But the best thing to come out of their time with The Doctor was *SPOILERS* River Song.

River Song? Yeah. More River Song. Somehow. That relationship with The Doctor worked. That's wasn't a young, silly girl having a crush on the Time Lord (Rose, Martha, etc), it was a real relationship that stood the test of Time And Space.

Clara? She's alright. Let's see how they wrap all that up. But so far, they've done okay with here.

Ah, but the show isn't called The Companions. It's Doctor Who. And, The Doctor is the star, or stars, of the show.

Paul McGann, I though was just okay. Least favorite Doctor for some time. His later surprise appearance in The Night of the Doctor brought him up in my eyes a bit. I want to see more of that Doctor.

Christopher Eccleston was okay. About the time I got used to him, he bailed on he show. Shoulda stuck around for three years, at least.

David Tennant? Yeah, he was alright. Probably coulda played The Doctor for a lot longer. Overall, liked him. Not Peter Davison or Patrick Troughton liked him. But, he was fine.

Matt Smith? His biggest problem was the scripts. The whole "Oh, I know what to do because myself from the future suddenly appeared and told me what to do" got a little old. It's called the TARDIS, not the Deus Ex Machina.

Oh, and John Hurt? Yeah. He was alright. Particularly when he was keeping Matt Smith's and David Tennant's Doctors in line, he reminded me of William Hartnell keeping Jon Pertwee's and Patrick Troughton's Doctors in line.

Oh, yeah. The villains. Some of the classic villains returned, and it was hit and miss.

The Autons? They did those right. Those were truly the Autons chasing Rose and The Doctor around when the new series launched. With better makeup and effects. That gave me hope for the new series.

The Sontarans? I like what they did with them. Nothing. They are true to form. Better makeup, just as with the Autons. The Sontarans are definitely the same villains as in the old show. And that's a good thing.

The Cybermen? Nope. Well, not the ones from the alternate universe. They did have the ones from Mondas, the real ones, appear later. I think. They looked kinda like the original Cybermen. So, I'll just tell myself those are the real Cybermen and be happy.

Daleks? Nope. Daleks can't fly. That ruined everything. It was a shock when they could elevate up stairs when taking on The Doctor (7.0). Now, they can suddenly fly? Nope. That's wrong.

The Master? He's been okay. Season Eight featured too much of The Master. When they scaled it back, it was wonderful to see him appear. Roger Delgado was fantastic, as was Anthony Ainley. I would like to have seen more of Derek Jacobi as The Master, but John Simm was good in the role. I want to see more of The Master. Once a season. Maybe twice, to throw us off.

New villains? Well, the Weeping Angels were kinda neat. But those fart aliens? Americans, I suppose. None of the other ones stand out, all these weeks after finishing the new series.

But, overall? Yeah, the new series is okay. Maybe Peter Capaldi's Doctor will be a return to the Classic series. More actual story and less generic blowing stuff up.

I'm looking forward to the 8th season of the new series when it returns in August. So, maybe I do like the new series after all.

Classic Doctor Who - The End

L-R: The Doctor, The Doctor,
The Doctor, The Doctor, The Doctor,
The Doctor, The Doctor

In December, I mentioned that I was thinking of watching all of the episodes of the classic Doctor Who series. I wrote:

...I’ve been hearing how great Doctor Who is. So, maybe I’ll watch that, I thought.

Just kidding. I had no desire to watch Doctor Who.

I remember Doctor Who from way back. Used to catch an occasional episode starring Tom Baker on PBS many years ago. I thought the whole thing was silly. Not Monty Python silly. Just silly.

But, I kept hearing about how great Doctor Who (the current version) was. So, I looked into it. And, I found out it wasn’t really a reboot, but a revival. They kept the original timeline in place, and began the 2005 series with the Ninth Doctor.

Mmmkay. Maybe this won’t be the JJ Adams-ing of Doctor Who. Maybe I would watch it.

Well, watch it I did. You see, I'm the kind of person that won't pick something up in the middle. I want to go back to the beginning and get the full effect. So, I watched all the episodes.

That was hard to do. You see, many episodes from the first six seasons no longer exist. Since, with very rare exception, all the stories are multiple episodes (I'm calling those serials) there are some serials with one or more missing episodes. Additionally, ten of the first 49 serials are completely missing, with another 16 serials missing one or more episodes, but not all. In all, 97 episodes are missing from those first six seasons.

BBC animated eleven episodes, and used the still-existing soundtrack combined with stills and surviving video clips to reconstruct five others. Fans have still images, clips, and home movies to reconstruct the other 81 missing episodes. BBC has also done reconstructions of two entire serials as single episodes, but those are heavily edited.

So, with all that, plus with the episodes that exist on DVD, iTunes, or Amazon, I have now seen every episode of the classic Doctor Who.

I liked it.

The Doctor (William Hartnell)

William Hartnell is my favorite. He created the role. Or, the role was created for him. And, with him in the role, The Doctor was mysterious and definitely in charge. Plus, I'm the same age Hartnell was when the first episode was broadcast.

Patrick Troughton was a treat. He always livened up the screen. He reprised the role more times than any other actor who played The Doctor. Come to think of it, he might actually be my favorite.

Jon Pertwee was a joy. I didn't remember him as The Doctor until I saw him as The Doctor. I don't know, prior to this viewing, that I ever saw any of his episodes (and I suspect I did not) but I did recognize him as The Doctor. Somehow.

Tom Baker was everyone's favorite. But not mine. Of course, he was the first actor I remember seeing in the role, but I didn't always enjoy the show. That's when the show got a little preachy.

Peter Davison, I liked. I didn't remember much from his stint, but I did like many of his serials. He may be my second-favorite Doctor. Toss him, Troughton, and Hartnell into a hat (they all wore hats, get it?) and whichever name you pull out is my favorite.

Colin Baker was around the least of any of the actors that played The Doctor. He was in only 31 episodes over two full seasons, and one serial in another.

Sylvester McCoy was the one I knew the least, though he was in more episodes than Colin Baker. McCoy appeared in 42 episodes over three full (but short) seasons.

Yes, I have a TARDIS case
for my iPhone. Shut up.

Each one, during his time, was The Doctor. The companions were ever-changing, and despite the seven actors (eight, actually) that played the first seven incarnations of The Doctor, the lead character was the constant.

Oh, about the companions. My favorite? Well, Sarah Jane Smith. But, I also likes the group of Susan, Barbara, and Ian. Jamie wasn't my favorite, but I didn't dislike him at all, plus I can't imagine The Doctor (2.0) without him. So, maybe Jamie is my second-favorite companion.

And Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, though he wasn't actually a companion, was a regular on the show for some time. I liked him. A lot. Took some getting used to, but he's definitely someone who was a joy to see return after his regular run ended. The others? Yeah, they were okay. I like the cute chicks the best. There were very few I didn't like.

Who didn't I like? Kamelion. K-9. I suppose I'm robotist. And, while a lot of people hated Mel, I didn't. She was okay. Product of her times.

So...

Was it a worthwhile experience? Yep. For me it was. I now understand the Doctor Who universe.

Should you watch them all? I don't know. If you have Hulu Plus, you'll find that as the largest online repository for streaming existing episodes. And, if you subscribe to Hulu Plus and want to check some out, like the early stuff, that's a great place to do that. But, should you?

Well, if you have to ask, the answer is "no." I'm not saying don't watch them. What I'm saying is unless you want to watch them -- really want to watch them -- don't.

But, if you do want to watch them, go ahead. You'll enjoy it.

I'm glad I did this.

Addendum: Actually, I did more. I kept watching. And, even though this was The End, there is an Epilogue. Next week.

Classic Doctor Who Season 26

The last scene of Doctor Who

Last year, I decided to watch the classic Doctor Who series. And now I have.

I just finished Season 26, which was the last episode of the classic series before it was canceled.

The Doctor's clothing changed. He still wore an outfit similar to that he wore the previous two seasons, but they were a darker color. The darker color matched the darker tone of the show. If it was part of an attempt to revitalize the show by bringing some of the initial mystery back to the character of The Doctor, it didn't work. Ratings for the season were at an all-time low, even though the season's serials increased in viewership from one to the next. Even so, the season averaged only 4.2 million viewers over the 14 weeks.

The season featured old friends, old villains, and new villains that were actually old villains. Or something.

The old friends part was easy, and a treat. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) made his final appearance in Doctor Who in a story, Battlefield (4 episodes), that touched on the legend of Arthur. There's some silliness with crossing from universes or alternate realities -- apparently Arthur and everyone from that existed, just not here on our Earth -- and they all knew The Doctor as Merlin. Or something.

Anyway, the story is all convoluted, with Mordred being Arthur's nephew, as some tellings of the Arthur story go, instead of his illegitimate son by his half-sister, as some other tellings of the Arthur story go.

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart unwraps Bessie from mothballs for The Doctor and Ace

The story features Jean Marsh as Morgaine, Mordred's mother and Arthur's half-sister. Only, Mordred's mother was Morgause in some tellings, and Morgan le Fay (AKA Morgaine) in others. Kinda hard to keep straight. But, about Jean Marsh. She played The Doctor's companion, Sara Kingdom, in Season Three's The Daleks' Master Plan, and the character Joanna in Season Two's The Crusade. This was her first appearance on the show since William Hartnell left.

Jean Marsh is always good to see, but I was particularly happy to see Nicholas Courtney's Brigadier. Even though I didn't like the whole change to the storyline during most of Jon Pertwee's stint as The Doctor, setting the series on Earth, I did like some of the characters, particularly Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Without the Earth-based shows, the character wouldn't have developed like it did. So, there is that.

Ace's character was developed in both Ghost Light (3 episodes) and The Curse of Fenric (4 episodes). The first serial involved the history of the place the young delinquent Dorothy (AKA Ace) has burned down, and the other set the stage for her mother's troubled upbringing, with Ace as a catalyst for that.

The Master (Anthony Ainley) was in the final serial of the season (and the classic show), Survival (3 episodes). It ended with The Master again trapped in an impossible situation, and was intended to be the end of that character. Again.

It was known that the show might not be renewed for a 27th season, so after the first episode of Survival aired, the next day, 23 November 1989, the 26th anniversary of the initial broadcast of the first episode of the show, Sylvester McCoy recorded a voice-over that was added to the final scene.

There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, where the sea's asleep and the rivers dream, people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice and somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace; we've got work to do!

On 6 December 1989, the final episode aired. The show was canceled early the next year by BBC, and the show would fade into oblivion.

Except...

The Doctor (Jon Pertwee) appears in the 1993 Children In Need special

On 26 and 27 November, 1993, as part of an annual fundraiser called Children In Need, several actors from the series reprised their roles for a short two-part special. It was a cross-over of sorts with characters from EastEnders, another BBC show.

Neither the special, titled Dimensions in Time (2 episodes; 7 minutes, 5 minutes) was done partially as a 30th anniversary celebration of the show, which still had a following. There had been a move to make a 30th anniversary special featuring all of the living actors that had played The Doctor, but The Dark Dimension never got off the ground. However, since the actors' involvement had been secured, they agreed to do a charity show, forgoing pay as long as it was never made commercially available. It's not, although bootlegs are available.

Briefly, Dimensions in Time featured The Rani having created a temporal trap that had snared the first two incarnations of The Doctor (William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton, both deceased), and was trying to capture the other five. Her attempts succeeded in having The Doctor change into his various incarnations, as well as his companions being replaced by others. For example, The Doctor (7.0) became The Doctor (6.0) while Ace became Mel. This kept up, and featured, in no particular order within the story, Jon Pertwee, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy. Tom Baker appeared early on, making an attempt to contact his other selves. Companions who appeared included Ace (Sophie Aldred), Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford), Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney), Romana (Lalla Ward), Sarah Jane Smith - (Elisabeth Sladen), Nyssa - (Sarah Sutton), Leela - (Louise Jameson), Peri Brown - (Nicola Bryant), Melanie Bush - (Bonnie Langford), K9 (John Leeson/Matt Irvine), Liz Shaw (Caroline John), Mike Yates (Richard Franklin), and Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling).

While the show isn't considered canon by either Doctor Who enthusiasts (or EastEnders fans, either), it was all in fun, and for charity. Which must count for something.

And so, to wrap it all up ...

Eh, I'll do that later.

Classic Doctor Who Season 25

The Doctor and Ace

Several week ago, I began watching the classic Doctor Who series. Several people told me I ought to watch the new series, saying I'd like it. So, I decided to watch the old series instead. I figured I'd watch a few episodes, get bored, and use that as an excuse to not watch the new series.

Hasn't worked out that way. After a little bit, I became a fan of the show. The old show. Still haven't, as of this writing, seen any of the new series. And, until I actually start watching any of the new series, I don't know if I will. But, if I do, I'll have the complete backstory.

I'm up to the last of the incarnations of The Doctor before the show was canceled. And, Season 25 is the next-to-last season of the classic series.

This season was just plain weird. If you remember the 1980s, you know that was a weird time. If you have ever watched British TV, you know it was weird. So, 1980s British TV? Weird².

The season featured two of The Doctor's most famous opponents: the Daleks and the Cybermen. Remembrance of the Daleks (4 episodes) shows the destruction of the Daleks home world, Skaro, which was the setting for the serial that introduced them, Season One's The Daleks.

Remembrance of the Daleks has several references to the first serial of the show, Season One's An Unearthly Child. It included action at Coal Hill School, where Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton worked before they began traveling with The Doctor. Additional action took place at the I.M. Forman (sic) junk yard at 76 Totter's Lane, where An Unearthly Child had its opening scene. One character was expecting The Doctor to be an older, white-haired man. The episode took place in November 1963, on a Saturday, based on a scene that had a TV in the background, playing a BBC station break, that said "This is BBC Television, the time is quarter past five and Saturday viewing continues with an adventure in the new science fiction series Doc-" before the scene abruptly cut. Also, Ace picked up and opened a book on The French Revolution, similar to what Susan did in the first episode of An Unearthly Child.

Ace reads a book on The French Revolution at Coal Hill School,
November 23, 1963, in Season 25's Remembrance of the Daleks

Susan reads a book on The French Revolution at Coal Hill School,
November 23, 1963, in Season One's An Unearthly Child.

Silver Nemesis (3 episodes) featured the Cybermen, who were responsible for The Doctor's death (and regeneration) in Season Four's The Tenth Planet. Silver Nemesis aired on the 25th anniversary of the very first Doctor Who episode, giving the "silver" an additional meaning.

The show's silver anniversary serial also featured an appearance by none other than the most famous Doctor Who fan, Her Royal Majesty, Elizabeth II, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, and Defender of the Faith. Okay, it was some actress who was made up to look like her. But I had you there for a second, didn't I?

There were reports that the show runners attempted to get the Earl of Wessex (Prince Edward) to appear on the show. The royal family responded that it would not be appropriate. So, they made up some woman (Mary Reynolds) to look like the Queen, and had her out walking her corgis.

The other two serials in the season were just plain weird. The Happiness Patrol (3 episodes) featured a lead female villain that was supposed to be a parody of Margaret Thatcher (yeah, more left-wing British TV stuff). It also featured pink-haired women running around killing people who were unhappy. And a walking ... thing ... made of candy that was the official executioner. Or something.

The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (4 episodes) featured a galactic circus, weird clowns, a rapping ringmaster, a werewolf, and other such nonsense. Those wacky Brits.

Yes, the one with the pink-hairs and the one with the clowns were weird. Just plain weird. But, the Daleks and Cybermen ones were okay. Kinduva mixed bag for the show's penultimate season.

The classic series concludes with Season 26. Hulu and iTunes are locked and loaded.

Classic Doctor Who Season 24

Season 23 Title Card

I'm nearly done with watching the classic Doctor Who series. I started with the episodes that aired on BBC in November 1963, and have seen every episode -- or reconstructions of missing episodes -- since. I've just finished Season 24, which was Sylvester McCoy's first as The Doctor.

Before I get into that, there's a little matter of some off-screen events that impacted the Doctor Who universe. Between the end of Season 23 and the start of Season 24, Patrick Troughton died. He had made what would be his last appearance as The Doctor in Season 22's The Two Doctors, reprising his role and playing opposite Colin Baker. During the off-season, he had appeared at a science fiction convention here in Columbus, Georgia, and died of a heart attack during the convention, on 28 March 1987.

I mentioned in my Season 23 wrap-up that Colin Baker was fired from the show after that season completed. The reason was that the Controller of BBC One was displeased with the tone of the show, and a complete overhaul was planned, including replacing Baker as The Doctor.

BBC offered Baker the opportunity to film a regeneration scene in the first serial of Season 24, but he counter-offered to do the entire season, concluding with a regeneration, because he would have missed out on other work by taking a short-term role. According to one interview, he never heard back from BBC about the counter-offer, and the season opened with a regeneration.

Time and the Rani (4 episodes) featured a cold opening, only the third time this had happened, after Castrovalva (a repeat of the regeneration from Tom Baker to Peter Davison from Logopolis) and The Five Doctors (William Hartnell's farewell to Susan from The Dalek Invasion of Earth). The cold opening shows the TARDIS being attacked and finally landing on a planet. The Doctor and Mel are crumpled on the floor. The Rani enters and has her henchmen secure The Doctor. When they roll him over, he is in the midst of a regeneration, and resolves in Sylvester McCoy's likeness.

For the scene, McCoy had donned a wig and lay on the floor to play the unconscious Doctor (6.0), making him the only actor to play two incarnations of The Doctor (6.0 and 7.0).

Time and the Rani was the first full stand-alone serial to feature Melanie Bush (Bonnie Langford), although she had appeared in Season 23's The Trial of a Time Lord: Terror of the Vervoids. Since Mel had obviously joined The Doctor during his sixth incarnation, and the series was now into his seventh incarnation, the plans to actually have a full introduction couldn't be realized. The only other companion who didn't have an introduction episode was Susan, who was already with The Doctor, her grandfather, when the series began.

Delta and the Bannermen (3 episodes) was Mel's penultimate episode, but caught my ear from all the oldies music playing. My eyes caught the time-traveling bus in space looking a little like Pearl Forrester's space van from Mystery Science Theater 3000.

The Time Bus

Pearl's Van

Mel was definitely an 80s girl, with big shoulders and big 80s hair. And a screamer. Bonnie Langford was a child star in the U.K. and had played Annie on stage in that country. She was 22 when she first appeared in the role, making her the first companion born after the show was first broadcast. The first episode of Doctor Who aired in November 1963, and Langford was born in July 1964. Although some fans of the show didn't like the character, Colin Baker once called her one of the most professional actors with whom he had ever worked.

Langford left the show at the end of the season, with the character Mel deciding to leave The Doctor and travel with rouge spaceman Sabalom Glitz. Dragonfire (3 episodes) featured a chance encounter with Glitz, whom The Doctor (6.0) and Peri had encountered in Season 23's The Trial of a Time Lord: The Mysterious Planet, and The Doctor (6.0) and Mel had dealings in that season's The Trial of a Time Lord: The Ultimate Foe.

The Doctor picked up a new companion, Dorothy Gale McShane, who went by "Ace" (Sophie Aldred). Despite Ace being younger than Mel, Alred is older than Langford. Ace was sixteen when she began traveling with The Doctor, though Alred was 26 at the time.

Sylvester McCoy's portrayal of The Doctor featured his carrying an umbrella, as Colin Baker's had done, carrying many things in his pocket, as Tom Baker had done, and taking a more comedic approach, as Patrick Troughton had done.

The short season meant not much time to learn much else about this incarnation of The Doctor, although he was immediately more likable than his previous incarnation.

And, we only have two more seasons to go.