Original airdate: March 3, 2009, March 10, 2009 (Canada)

Okay, okay, it’s not quite a rehash of The Ghost Whisperer. But it does fall into the hot-young-person-with-supernatural-powers-just-trying-to-live-a-normal-life franchise. The Listener, a Canadian import, stars Craig Olejnik as Toby Logan, a 20-something paramedic who just happens to be a telepath. At least, that’s what they call it. Really, his super-visions seem more like precognizance or prescience, rather than telepathy. ANYhow, he’s just going along, minding his own business, when POW! He’s struck by a mind-blowing vision that he just HAS to look into! With big dreamy blue eyes! And thoughtful, faraway expressions! Olejnik is a decent actor, and I don’t hold his looks against him. But a series cannot be carrie by dreamy eyes and brooding expressions. 

Furthermore, Toby’s powers suffer from a common ailment among doors on the U.S.S. Enterprise: dramatic convenience-itis. They only work when it is dramatically convenient to do so. And furthermore, Toby only sees however much is necessary to move along the plot, and not enough to get to the bottom of the matter right away. 

I cannot get attached to these characters. They do not catch my interest. The introduction of a foster brother for Olejnik’s character in episode 2 is sadly underused, for instance. There is no real spark there. And  Lisa Marcos’s Detective Charlie Banks is unfortunately underwritten. It’s like sitting on a riverbank, picking petals from a daisy: “She suspects him, she suspects him not. She suspects him…” 

As for the villains… Do the writers have something against underpayed civil servants? I dearly hope that future episodes provide more compelling Bad Guys, because neither of these guys are given anywhere near adequate motives for their actions other than that they’re looney tunes. 

Hopefully it’ll improve. I like dreamy blue eyes.

They will all get wed as Who star David Tennant bows out of the show,

We previously told how all the time-travelling hero’s assistants will return for Tennant’s final scenes on the BBC1 sci-fi hit later this year.

Fans will see Rose Tyler – played by Billie Piper – marry the half-human clone of the Doctor in their parallel universe.

Meanwhile, Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) – her replacement as assistant – will tie the knot with Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke).

Tennant will also make a special guest appearance in the CBBC spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures for the wedding of his former companion Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen).

 

Executive producer Russell T Davies said: “Viewers thought they may have to wait until November for the next full episode of Doctor Who – but this is an extra special treat.”

 

Comedian Catherine Tate, who plays sidekick Donna Noble, will also reunite with Tennant, 38, for his finale.

He will be replaced in the next series by 26-year-old Matt Smith, who will become the 11th Doctor.

A show source said: “Fans won’t be disappointed by the new Doctor and they’re in for a treat with the new series – which will include the return of the ultra-scary Weeping Angels.”

Meanwhile, we can reveal that Tennant has signed up for even more Doctor Who episodes – as a cartoon.

 

The Scots star has already recorded seven new animated shorts. They will also feature his real-life girlfriend Georgia Moffett, who played the Doctor’s daughter in the 2008 series.

Russell said the six-minute episodes – called Dreamland – will feature “truly exotic aliens and locations, in a beautiful, rich script full of history and imagination”.

He added: “Voice recordings have already been completed – including David Tennant as the Doctor of course.

“And we’re delighted to welcome Georgia Moffett back to the fold.”

 

But Russell said the cartoon series would not see a return for the Doctor’s daughter – as Georgia, 24, will be playing a brand new character called Cassie Rice.

 

The series – which will air on CBBC – will be the second animated Who story to star Tennant.

He appeared in The Infinite Quest two years ago.

Russell will give way to Steven Moffat as the show’s lead writer and executive producer in 2010.

But he hinted at yet ANOTHER outing for Tennant as the Timelord.

He said: “With the Doctor’s appearance in The Sarah Jane Adventures as special project one, and the Dreamland animation as special project two, it would be nice to round things off for Doctor Who in 2009 with a special project three. We’re working on it.”

Rumours abound that Russell is working on a Doctor Who movie which could star Tennant.

 

 

Let’s take each of these rumors one at a time:

1. Rose Tyler will marry the half-human Doctor (both last seen in last season’s finale). Perfectly reasonable rumor. As rumors go.
2. Martha Jones will marry Mickey Smith. Here we stray into la-la land. Given that Martha was already engaged to pediatrician Tom Milligan (who we met in season 3′s “The Last of the Time Lords), and she only just met Mickey in “Journey’s End,” this one seems more than a bit absurd. 
3. The Tenth Doctor will show up for Sarah Jane’s wedding. Wedding? And who, pray tell, will she be marrying? The 10th Doctor, rather more sentimental than previous incarnations, might well show up for her wedding… but given that Sarah Jane has not met any prospects thus far, I’m filing this one under “unlikely.” However, Tennant is confirmed for a full-blown appearance midway through the season of The Sarah Jane Adventures.
4. The Weeping Angels make a return. If Russell T. Davies shares writing credit for the specials with Stephen Moffat, it’s possible. If not, then highly unlikely.
5. Russell T. Davies is working on a Doctor Who movie, possibly starring David Tennant. I’ve already heard this rumor from various other sources. Filed under “plausible.” However, it’s less likely that Tennant will be the Doctor if a movie is in the works. 

Also check out the ever-fun Den of Geek for the latest in Doctor Who news. 

And I would like  to say “So long, and thanks for all the fish” to Outpost Gallifrey, one of my favorite sources for news and rumors regarding my favorite television show. You will be missed.

Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot.
BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR.

-Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

This image, of a man facing down a line of tanks, became symbolic of the event and the awesome odds faced by the protesters. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher voiced a powerful sentiment in an address on June 2:

This day the government of China affirmed to the world that it is a criminal enterprise that is perfectly willing to murder unarmed people in order to stay in power.

Shame on those Communist Party bosses who still 20 years after Tiananmen Square would still massacre advocates of democracy if they would gather in their streets, just as they would massacre Falun Gong members one at a time as they would arrest them, put them into prison, murder them, and would sell their body parts, just as they would murder Tibetan nationalists or Christians or other religious believers. Shame on Beijing. Shame on the people of the world who would treat the Government of Beijing as if it were the same as a democratic government.

June 4 is not just a day of shame for the Beijing regime, however. It is a day of shame for our government as well. Under President Reagan, we made it clear that the United States would continue providing credit, investment, beneficial trade arrangements, and technology transfer as long as China was willing to continue on the path of reform and on the path of making their society more open. Reagan, had he been confronted with Tiananmen Square, would have sent a message: if you send the troops in to massacre these people, the deal is off. You will pay a price.

Do you know what our government did? It wasn’t President Reagan. It was President Herbert Walker Bush. Do you know what his message said? It said nothing because he didn’t send a message, and that was the message the murderers in Beijing needed to hear.

America really doesn’t give a damn about democracy. America doesn’t care about human rights. We care about making a buck, and if you have to slaughter the people at Tiananmen Square, the Americans will never ever protest; they won’t whisper a protest; they won’t cancel contracts, because money is more important to the Americans than freedom.

Well, I’m afraid that did not represent the America that I’m all about. That immorality of siding with a dictatorship, of siding with the gangsters, of siding with the murderers in order to make a short-term profit–that policy–is coming back to haunt us now. That policy has created a monster in Beijing–a powerful, powerful force for evil in this world that we now must confront.

Today marks an anniversary–an anniversary of shame on those who committed the murders, an anniversary of shame on what our reaction was to those murders and to the repression that took place 20 years ago.

Let us send a message to the people of China: We are on their side. Hopefully, if nothing else, this resolution will let them know that, as our people stumble over themselves in trying to make short-term profits by making deals with the gangsters who have oppressed the people of China, there are Americans here who still hold true to the values of Jefferson, of Washington–of our Founding Fathers–and that there are Americans who still hold true to those values that liberty and justice for all is more important than short-term profit gains for American capitalists.

Let me add my voice in defiance against tyranny. My prayers are with those who still labor to bring freedom and democracy to the oppressed in China. God bless.

It’s always seemed to me like a mission. A holy one, like the Blues Brothers. It’s a marathon. You can’t quit; even coming in dead last has honor. Quitting doesn’t. Look, I had absolute faith in my future when I was starving in New York and no one believed in me besides me and my girlfriend. I’d be stupid to lose that faith after I’ve become a [expletive] icon. Oh, yes. And I love the work.

Rest in peace.

More reports at People.com and ew.com. A longer piece can be found at latimes.com.

History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.

-Abba Eban

Whatever one may think of his occupation, the slaying of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller – in church no less – was a heinous and disgusting act. The person who did it and anyone who condoned the act, even indirectly or with a “got what was coming to him” wink and nod, has forfeited the right to be called “pro-life” in any but the most hypocritical fashion. 

Unfortunately, the killing has been used to tar virtually the entire anti-abortion movement and to come close to suggesting that people with certain opinions should just shut up. The American tradition of tolerating free speech – yes, sometimes even offensive free speech – is thereby put in some danger.

[...]

Thus we have a troubled individual who scrambled to find meaning for himself in quasi-political activity and eventually (though it hasn’t been proven in court yet) was able to justify in himself the murder of an abortion-providing doctor.

[...]

Lighten up, people. Strong opinions forcefully expressed are the lifeblood of a free society. Criticize them if you will, but don’t try to eliminate or criminalize them. 

Democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.

-Winston Churchill

Rumors are, of course, flying like rampant all over the place, such as at The Noldor Blog. I wouldn’t mind seeing Legolas or Gimli in the movies, as it is actually reasonable. But given that, at the time The Hobbit is set, Aragorn is all of 10 years old and living in Rivendell under an alias, I do have to wonder about Viggo Mortensen’s presence. Arwen, for her part, was spending the time at her maternal grandmother’s home, Lothlórien. Gimli could very well have come with Dain and the dwarves of the Iron Hills, and it is perfectly believable that Legolas would appear at a banquet in own father’s halls. Heck, they could even have him getting drunk with that elven steward… Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Frodo are all too young to appear. Then again, we don’t know exactly how far these movies are going to cover relative to the books. We’ll just have to wait and see. Doncha love it? 

Be sure to check out TheOneRing.net for all the latest news on the upcoming movies. They have all the good stuff!