Hello 
I'm Siobhan Curran/Kisa Naumova, and this is my weblog. I tend to write about stuff like crossdressing, Macs, code, cats, wine and Second Life, but in general it's just an ongoing conversation about all sorts of stuff. If you'd like to know a little bit more about what this all is, I recommend starting on this page which has a little bit of info on who I am, and what I'm trying to do — or you could dive into my five years worth of archives if you like.
Otherwise, feel free to close this box and explore...
Who, By Numbers
There's one particular moment from last year's Doctor Who Christmas Special — The Christmas Invasion — that I've watched over and over again over the course of this year. It's the bit during the sword-fight sequence, just after The Doctor's hand has grown back and he answers the Nasty Evil Skull-Faced Baddie's™ accusation of witchcraft with the words, "Time Lord".
I absolutely love that moment. There's something triumphant about it, something wonderfully reassuring as well. It's like a little trump card, played at just the right moment. The simple fact that whatever evilness is threatening the safety of the human race, The Doctor outranks any of it, and he's on our side.
It's great, because you get these very 'arrogant' aliens, convinced that they're some kind of Ultimate Force To Be Reckoned With™ — they're full of "Mwah ha har"s, twirling moustaches and stuff, until they realise that this little man they've been taking for granted is a fucking Time Lord, at which point they may as well give up and go back to whatever sorry rock they crawled off of.
There was a similar moment in last night's Christmas special — when The Doctor announces to Big Nasty Spidery Woman™ that he's not from Mars, he's from Gallifrey — and suddenly her look of smugness at the impending doom of the planet changes to one of horror...
...but the "Hurrah for our team!" feeling didn't come for me, and it took me ages to work out why.
It felt, to me, that The Runaway Bride was written by a focus group — or rather that the whole episode had been a result of the writers sitting down with a big list of all the things that people had liked from previous episodes, and crow-barring them into an incredibly flimsy plot.
It's not that I didn't like it, it's just rather than leaving me breathless and filled with excitement (as last year's did), the only thing in it that made me blurt out "woah" was the second-or-so of Dalek at the end of the new season's trailer.
But then, of course, I was incredibly drunk. So I'm going to watch it again sober, and see if that makes a difference.
Although I'm betting that I'm going to find the music even more irritating without the dulling effects of two bottles of wine and some strange Swedish Glögg sloshing around inside of me...
Oh, I thought it was fabulous. And the Bride said something very very pertinent: that the Doctor needed a partner to get him to stop. That was great — it was the first time that I got the impression from Tennant's Doctor that he was a fucking Time Lord, an alien race that not only was incredibly powerful but also arrogant and merciless, as any "top dog' alien species is going to be. Brilliant stuff.
Hmm, watching it a second time, yeah — it was OK. I did get a little of the "woah" out of it when he was stood there draining the Thames into that hole¹. And I guess there was a hint of just how powerful he is, but I still wasn't jumping up and down screaming "Whoohoo!"
Criticising further though: Catherine Tate was bloody annoying², the Robot Santas got on my tits, and the Spider Lady was the most camp, over-the-top³ rubbish baddie EVAH.
I mean, all she did was stand there hissing and screaming. *pfft*
...
Just one question: When has the TARDIS ever dematerialised by shooting up into the sky like that? Eh? 
¹ OK, nit-picking: Wouldn't that (a) drain the sea as well, and (b) therefore do something catastrophic to the climate or something?
² Which she was probably supposed to be, thinking about it.
³ But I guess that's what Doctor Who is all about...
Brilliant stuff.
I too thought that The Runaway Bride was absolutely fantastic, brilliant and lovely. About as good as this very good series has ever been, in fact.
Doctor Who in this incarnation has always been about the struggle between humanity and alienation (not human and alien).
This episode hit it right on the head, with a great big red panto spider-queen thrown in for good measure. I feel sorry for you if you didn't enjoy it! Even you, Curran, who are otherwise magnificent.
I will write further on this in my own place. Oh yes
/me shakes head, rolls eyes, and tuts
We need one more spirit to visit her this night and get her to see the error of her ways. 
This is the Spirit Of Dr-Who-Christmas-Specials-Future: It was fecking brilliant!
Will that do? I've got someone called Scrooge to see next. 
Bah.
Humbug.
I know I went out early Crizzy day... but now It's the 27th. Sure something happened in between... Torchwood bastards!!!
[hic]
Belated best wishes to all — I really love you guys...
[thud]
So, we've learnt that Batman (The Doctor) needs his Robin (any available female) to stop him from going to far? That'll be interesting if that's the tack they take with the season. I liked it more than didn't, my main problem with last years special was, rather like that episode of The Simpsons with Pootchie the dog, every second the Doctor wasn't on screen I was asking "where's the Doctor?", this was much better and I found out, much to my surprise, that Catherine Tate can act. Why doesn't she try that more often, rather than her painfully unfunny TV show?
Catherine Tate can act
I now no longer trust anything you say
I think it call comes down to mood. I'd had a huge lunch, got pleasantly merry, played a board game and had sat down for some by-the-book tinselly fluff on the telly, and was rewarded.
I enjoyed it, but I can see how you didn't hit it on an upswing it could seem dire.
And the music was awful. "We've paid for a bloody live orchestra and you're gonna hear them even if it drowns out the dialog!"