Got married, moved to Arizona, bought a new car. It's time for another Things I've Driven Lately Roundup!

(No updates for almost a year? I have no idea what you're talking about.)

Really, what I've done is test-drive a huge number of cars, since I'm trading in my beloved Audi wagon. It's defeated two Alaskan winters, has gone anywhere with aplomb, and has generally been a fantastic car - but here in AZ, it's just a little too much. So, to recap:

2002 Audi allroad quattro wagon

Rad: It goes anywhere, over anything, in any weather, and looks great while doing it. It's super comfy, rides like a dream, the heated seats are to die for, and the answer to "does it have..." is basically "yes." It can carry a small pickup's worth of stuff, and doesn't handle any differently fully loaded with people, luggage, or dirt, soil and tools. The sound system is one of the best I've ever heard in a car or out of one and coupled with the road noise isolation, it's like driving your own private concert hall.

Bad: It passed 92,000 miles the other day, and is rapidly approaching some breathtakingly expensive repairs. This is in addition to roughly six month's worth of breathtakingly expensive repairs I have already paid for, all centring around the car's absolutely unique suspension. From the control arms to the drive axles and air ride parts, suspension parts for this car appear to be made of solid gold.


Now, over the past couple weeks I've test-driven so many cars that it took a while for everything to percolate down through my brain. Added to a lot of other cars I've driven as potential successors to the Audi throne, here are the contenders in no particular order:


2010 Audi A3 TDI Wagon

Rad: It feels very much like my allroad, just smaller. Same driving dynamics (even with just FWD), similar stellar interior, very comfortable. Plus, it gets more than 40mpg on the highway, meaning its tank can scoot between 500-600 miles while being super fun to drive - more than 200 pound-feet of torque are coming out of that little I4 engine. The turning circle is very small, making the car pleasantly nimble. Slathered up with extras, it's also surprisingly affordable.

Bad: Like all modern clean diesels, the A3 TDI uses an ammonia solution (called AdBlue) squirted into the exhaust stream to control emissions. While this doesn't affect engine performance at all, AdBlue is incredibly expensive and the tank needs to be filled up periodically, at the cost of roughly another car payment. This service is not covered under the Audi new car warranty. The car is somewhat expensive for being a small wagon, and AWD is not offered with the diesel powerplant. I really love AWD.

Overall: 8.5/10


2008 Mazda 5 Minivan

Rad: This is the easiest to drive minivan on the market. Quick, responsive steering and a peppy engine make for an incredibly comfortable and comforting road experience, devoid of rattles, shakes, or the feeling that you're going to get crushed in traffic. Xenon headlamps make night driving a breeze, and the high seating position lets you see over many other things on the road, including bollards and other cars. A surprisingly good sound system and excellent ergonomics are very welcome. Interior materials are really nice, with few hard-touch plastics or cheap materials. The engine is peppy (if a little histrionic at passing speeds) and has plenty of pull for your average minivan driver. Of course, there is an incredible amount of interior space for cargo or people. The price is also extremely attractive.

Bad: It's a minivan. It has a little bit of a boaty feel moving in a parking lot, but it's still head and shoulders above other vans. Really, that's about it - the 5 is a fantastic vehicle, I just didn't really feel like I wanted a minivan.

Overall: 9.0/10


2005 Nissan 350Z Coupe

Rad: This thing is FAST. The V6 engine screams like a banshee and revs high, high, high. The manual transmission is smooth and crisp, with limited torque steer even while roaring around at truly irresponsible speeds. The ride is sporty and controlled, with fairly precise steering. Interior materials are very nice, although you won't spend much time looking at them. The unit I drove was bright cherry red with big chrome rims and low-profile tires - even sitting on the lot, it looked like it was breaking the speed limit. It's very hard to drive this car - especially the manual - without having a big grin on your face.

Bad: Well, unless you want to hear the sound system, your significant other, or your mobile. The car I drove had a very custom exhaust system that let out a pleasant burble at idle and a drag racer's wet dream under acceleration. What I'm saying is that the car is extremely loud - engine noise, road noise and wind noise fill the cabin to the brim. The suspension, while tight and sport-tastic, will also give you the feeling that your organs are smacking into one another on uneven roads. Finally, without a sunroof, the 350Z feels like a coffin with an engine - there is very limited visibility, and with dark interior materials I got quite a case of automotive claustrophobia, the likes of which I don't care to repeat. I can't even mention the sound system - I had it on, but over the rest of the noise, I couldn't really tell you what it sounded like. This car is a toy - a beautiful, fast, roaring monster of a toy - but with all the practicality of a toy, too.

Overall: 6.5/10


2000 BMW Z3 Convertible Coupe

Rad: This car was really, really nice. Comfortable seats, an excellent manual transmission, great sound system and a punchy engine make for a refined, elegant driving experience. The wind profile is excellent, allowing for the open-air feeling and having the wind in your hair without the experience of feeling like you're going to be picking bugs out of your teeth. The suspension soaked up the road with aplomb, without the floaty, disconnected feeling  this sometimes  engenders. Styling is classic and instantly recognizable. Both front seats have lots of legroom and pleasant reclining options.

Bad: It's also incredibly tiny - I think the Miata might actually have this car beat for interior room. Not surprising on a car this small, the soft-top is manual, but shoving it back into its bay feels like you're doing the wrong thing and are about to break something really important. This particular car had a lot of damaged interior materials, I can't say if this is common for a car this old. As a slight pet peeve on my own part, the car was fitted with a lot of M-series switchgear and interior materials (including M badges on the shifter) - but the car was not an M-series BMW*.

Overall: 7.0/10

*The BMW M-series are suicidally high-performance versions of their more-pedestrian brethren. For example, the 3-series M car (The M3) carries a 414-horsepower V8 right now. Adding M-series switchgear to a non-M car is a factory option that costs rather a lot - money that could be spent towards an ACTUAL M-series, or at least not spent on such a poseur option.


2010 Ford Mustang V6 Coupe

Rad: Ford has finally made a car I might consider buying! Excellent interior materials, fit and finish, and driving dynamics really made me like the new Mustang. The car we drove carried a V6 and still had a really pleasant amount of power driving the rear wheels. There is more interior room than you'd think - your smaller friends will fit comfortably into the back seat. There's a lot of headroom in the front, and the car doesn't feel dark or claustrophobic without a sunroof. Even equipped with halogen headlights, driving at night was pleasant enough, and the trunk is surprisingly large. The styling is also very good, a retro, raked look that makes the car look like it wants to jump onto the asphalt and just go.

Bad: The seats are comfortable up until about two hours of hanging out in them. Lower back support in the one I drove was okay but not excellent, which made my back hurt after being in the seat for that long. The suspension could be sportier on a car this aggressive-looking (Available as a factory extra, or in the GT model, I think), and the sound system was not fantastic. Really, this car wants a V8 - the 2010 V6 is very old, and the V8 actually can get better fuel economy while being an absolute giggle-switch if you decide to drive like a lunatic.

Overall: 7.0/10


2006 BMW 325i Sedan

Rad: Typical of BMW, the inline 6-cylinder engine in the 3-series is smooth and potent, delivering a very nice driving experience. The new key fobs with pushbutton start feel pleasant and futuristic, and the seats are very comfortable. Interior materials and finish are beyond reproach, with no squeaks or rattles. Ergonomics are very good, including a centre armrest and very adjustable seats. This particular car had an automatic transmission, and it was completely drama-free in shifting and driving around. All around, an excellent vehicle.

Bad: The base engine for the 2006 year (it changed for 2007 and on) doesn't quite leap off the line the way I think of when I hear "Ultimate driving machine." When it gets going there's plenty of power, but the launch just lacks a certain something. People less obsessed with constantly being able to put a grin on their face then I am won't mind it. The standard sound system is not as good as it could be (Especially coming from the Bose system in my Audi), and the standard wheel package gives the car a more conservative look than I like.

Overall: 7.0/10


2007 BMW 328i Sedan

Rad: As above - really, there's not a lot to add. In addition, the 328i gets a minor (but significant) bump in horsepower, giving it a pleasant shove off from a standing stop. This particular car had a great exterior colour - a dark indigo blue metallic.

Bad: This particular car sufferers from something that seems common with used BMWs - that being great exterior colours with awful (or at least, not great) interior colours. Far from offering a range of options that are all harmonious with one another, there are many garish and unpleasant colour combinations. This particular car had a tan interior - not completely objectionable, but very much at odds with the exterior. As a last note, this car was way, way outside our price range (and didn't even have all the options I wanted), the dealer really tried to keep us nailed down to it and they never really seemed to acknowledge that we were looking for something with a smaller number (and more options) attached to it.

Overall: 5.5/10 (Major points removed for the dealer's inability to understand what I wanted, despite the salesman being a nice guy and very good at his job. The two may be related.)


2007 MINI Cooper S Hatchback

Rad: This is the cutest car I have ever driven. I think it's even cuter than its nearest rival, the Volkswagen New Beetle. It's really just a great-looking vehicle, with charming proportions and just a fun, fun shape. Really, if you look at a Cooper and don't smile, there may be something wrong with your brain. It drives like a grown-up go kart, nimble and powerful, with very little turbo lag. Like its BMW siblings, it has a pushbutton start, which I think is just kinda cool. The panoramic sunroof makes the car feel enormous inside, and there is very little wind noise with the top retracted.

Bad: This is also one of the most disappointing cars I've driven. Despite the great handling and styling, interior materials are extremely cheap (And these cars are decidedly not cheap), and much of the fit and finish is poor. On this Cooper and a couple others we looked at, the centre armrests were all damaged - either the storage compartment wouldn't close or the arm was cracked. The sound system (Even the Harmon Kardon premium equipment) is not stellar, and again, especially not for a car this expensive - a well-equipped Cooper S is only a stone's throw from a well-appointed Audi A3 TDI, and frankly the Audi is a much, much better-built car. I wanted to love it, but I just couldn't.

Rose suggested I add a comment about the Mini's rear accomodations, so here it is: If you wonder whether the Mini's back seat is actually capable of human occupation after you first see the car, you may need to have your head examined.

Overall: 6.0/10


2003 Mazda MX-5 Miata Coupe Convertible

Rad: It's little, it's cheap, it's a convertible, and it's RWD, so you can really hoon it up. As a convertible, it's fun to drive, and the feeling of open-air driving is exhilarating, even in the cool and damp. Seats are comfortable enough, and while you won't be smoking the tires off the lines, the engine has some authority to it...or at least enough to tool around without fear of passing. Considering the price, the Miata is an unbeatable deal - you get all the hallmarks of much more expensive vehicles with the pocketbook hit of an economy car. They're fun, sporty, look great, and last absolutely forever. Plus, you'll always be getting better fuel economy than the Corvette and Viper drop-tops while doing circles around them for parking spaces.

Bad: It's little, the materials are cheap, and it has incredible torque steer under acceleration. I am not that tall, and my head stuck up past the windshield and into the slipstream when I had the seats adjusted to be comfortable. The sound system is anaemic, and it really needs to be mentioned again that the steering wheel tries really hard to pull out of your hands when you push the pedal down. As basic, inexpensive convertibles go it's pretty hard to beat, but there are some significant compromises as well.

Overall: 9.0/10 (Major points added for just how good this car is, even with the compromises.)


2005 BMW 330Ci Coupe Convertible

Rad: Excellent visibility even with the top up, top-notch interior materials, practical backseats and a fantastic engine, this really can be simply described as a 3-series convertible. The power soft-top is really fun to watch go down, it's got an R2-D2 look that gadgeteers will find captivating. Unlike many soft-tops, the rear window is actually glass and has heating elements in it for inclement driving.

Bad: The gauge clusters feel dated and the overall shape of the car with the top down doesn't quite do it for me. While I honestly have no idea how reliable the drop top is (I assume it's quite robust), watching all that articulation made my future self wince for the eventual repair bill.

Overall: 8.0/10


Oh man my fingers are getting tired. These are the cars we test-drove and rejected for one reason or another - generally, I think you can work out why. In the end, even though we were really only looking for one car, we wound up with two - and read on for what we (I) finally picked out.


1993 Honda Civic del Sol Coupe

Rad: Like the Miata, it's fun, gives you the open air at a great price, and comes with Honda's legendary reliability. The removable hard-top fits snugly into a special rack in the trunk, and the seats are very comfortable. Lockable bins provide secure storage for small valuables, and while the suspension can make it feel like you're driving only a few inches above the road, it still feels secure and pleasant. The engine is capable on the highway, and interior quality is quite nice. Also, this one was free.

Bad: The engine runs out of hamsters on any kind of moderate incline and the hard-top has a major sealing problem, springing leaks even when it's on properly. The halogen headlamps are adequate for night driving, but aren't spectacular.

Overall: 9.8/10 (It was free.)


2006 BMW 330i Sedan

Rad: Yes, it's another 3-series! The 330i features a higher-performance engine than the 325i (waaay up there), lending it a huge amount of grin-inducing push from a standing start. Again, the interior materials are top-notch, and the premium sound system is possibly even better than the allroad's. While the black exterior and black interior may not be the best option for the desert, it looks fantastic. This car has BMW's excellent 6-speed manual transmission, and it is a sensual thrill rowing through the gears while the I6 opens up and lets you know what the world looks like at 100 miles an hour, then keeps going.

Bad: It isn't as big as the allroad, it is not all-wheel-drive, and there isn't as much space in the inside. The rear seats do not have their own heaters (Although they do have their own AC vents), and there's a little bit more of a blind spot when merging. It also still drinks premium gas.

Overall: 9.5/10 (Can't beat free - and boy, I didn't.)


I'm done typing now.

The Chrysler Sebring is as terrible as this island is wonderful.

There are many things I have learned from the Internets. Some of them have been more worthwhile than others.

In this instance, however, I've learned that, apparently, I am unique. Especially when it comes to this year's round of video games.


I appear to be the only person on the entire Internet who:

- Really, really enjoyed Mirror's Edge (Look for a 10-second game review in...yeah) and has very few complaints about it.

- Replayed Mirror's Edge because I liked it

- Did not feel an overwhelming need to kill all the children in Fallout 3's Lamplight Caverns. I cannot believe the number of individuals who think being called a Mungo by an invincible child was anything important at all, or even allowed it to colour their view of the game. I stand in slack-jawed amazement at how many people issue forth unending fonts of rage about this.


Stay tuned for Things The Internet Teaches Me, Volume II, in which I discuss what I've learned about cats.

I'm hungry. This hasn't helped.

This apparently is a list of 100 foods everyone should try once. The rules are to bold out ones you've tried, strike through ones you wouldn't want to eat, and leave alone ones you haven't tried. Here's the obligatory link:

The Omnivore's Hundred

Full Monty Disclosure: Italics are my own ramblings

1. Venison - Surprisingly delicious, though I prefer moose.
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare - Once you get over that it's raw beef, it's really quite tasty.
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue - Though I wish I hadn't.
8. Carp - Get bass instead.
9. Borscht - The engine of Mother Russia, it's plain but surprisingly satisfying.
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari - Depending on who cooked it and how, this can be wonderful or taste like a rubber tyre.
12. Pho - Not a fan of Vietnamese cuisine, I'm afraid.
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses - Banned from French public transit? What could possibly smell that bad? I kid, I kid.
17. Black truffle - My mouth says yes, my wallet says no.
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns - One of the treasures of Chinese food, these.
20. Pistachio ice cream - Unnervingly delicious!
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper - Ow.
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas - Ow.
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo - The Southern version of "Whatchagot Stew," recipes for gumbo are consistently delicious.
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects - I know they're good for you and all but...I. Will. Not. Eat. Bugs.
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk - My aunt owns a goat farm. Very drinkable!
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme glazed original donut - So good you can only eat one!
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi - I am sure I have eaten these, and I'm also sure I didn't care for them, despite being half-Japanese.
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal - Who hasn't...
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine - It's cheese curds and gravy on top of fries. What's not to like? ...Except for everything I just mentioned...
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads - Just don't tell me what it is before I eat it.
63. Kaolin - You know, dust to dust and all, but...eugh.
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain Best part of Thai restaurants.
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill - Deer killed on the highway - that's where the venison came from.
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum - Order it Thai Spicy and kiss your sinuses goodbye.
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant I may have to make a special trip for this someday.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers - Dandelion salad counts, right?
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam - Go to Hawai'i, they will serve you spam and you won't know it's spam and oh god that was spam but it was good now I'm confused
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor - Is this a food? Seriously? Can you put that much delicious on one plate? Won't you get arrested or something?
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee - I might kill a small squeaky creature for a bag of Jamaican Blue Mountain.
100. Snake - Snake? Snaaaaaaaaaake!

What? It's been four months?

Surely you jest.


Team Fortress 2 (360): Earlier this year I finally managed to buy myself an XBox Live Gold subscription, permitting me to walk through those golden gates into online gaming. I've never been a huge fan of online games to tell the truth; for the most part the people you meet will either spend every waking moment playing a game and therefore destroy you before you've begun to understand where the fire button is or will be such an obnoxious dickbag that you'll be put off of gaming forever. Or, at least, that was my experience with Halo. For whatever reason, the online community in TF2 appears to be slightly more refined than the vast majority of XBox Live, possibly due to the comparatively low player count as compared to Halo or TF2 on Steam. The gameplay experience is, therefore, noticibly improved - despite having only a rudimentary idea of what the maps looked like, I found myself able to have fun within the first ten minutes of joining a server.

There really isn't a lot to TF2 on console, there's six maps (which are variously capture-the-flag or territory control), nine classes and enough explosions to make the TSA uncomfortable at ninety paces. The gameplay is balanced to an almost atomic level, with excellent map design and fantastic work and attention to detail paid to the different classes, and above all it is really, really fun. The cartoonish world of TF2 makes it difficult to take seriously - it reminds you that you're playing a game, and a very silly one at that. There's really not much more to it, really - TF2 is a fine evolution of the original Team Fortress mod for Quake, and a fitting successor to Team Fortress Classic. I've spent more time on this game than I care to admit, which only helps solidify the score of A+.


On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness: Episode One: The overwrought title can only, of course, have come from the seething, churning mind of Penny Arcade's Tycho. After years of providing critiques and opinons on the game industry, Mike and Jerry have decided to enter it on their own accord, presumably while wearing a flameproof suit. RSPD is an interesting take on the RPG genre, combining a remarkable turn-based combat system that Square could take a few pointers from, beautiful artwork, snappy writing, the Cthulu mythos and, of course, the familiar PA "flava." While the game's episodic nature makes it short, the content that is there makes for a very fun time-waster. The price of admission is reasonable, the game is fun, and to the target audience of millions of Penny Arcade viewers, it is a smorgasboard of in-jokes and references, earing itself an A-.


Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare: I have traditionally been highly resistant to the Call of Duty franchise, feeling that the version of World War II they try to recreate was best visited in Saving Private Ryan and seeing little reason to try and improve on it. Call of Duty 4, then, is the first title in the series I have given serious time to, and Infinity Ward have done an excellent job of parting me with my free time. Like many outdoor squad-based shooters as of late, CoD4 is fairly short but it packs so much into its play time that it's easily forgiven for that. The majority of the game is tight, gripping and intense, with a gritty realism that works very well. The game's atmosphere of in-your-face sensory overload (and primary focus on the British SAS) helps to drive home the point that these are scary people doing scary things, and in a refreshing change of pace there are few if any of the Jingoistic flag-waving rah-rah hallmarks that have begun to define the war-shooter genre. The game has a battle mechanic that sits somewhere between Half-Life and Halo with a dose of (I'm told) Gears of War thrown in for good measure, and it works very well. The AI is very intelligent, battles flow smoothly and the environments are beautiful - or as beautiful as bomb-cratered Totally Not Baghdad can be. There are a wide variety of missions and the game has several moments and sequences that truly stand out as some of the best directing and writing in games, full stop. There aren't a lot of complaints I can make about CoD4, even its headache-inducing difficulty feels more like this game is hard rather than the A.I. is cheating. I'm not going to be rushing out to buy Call of Duty 5 seeing as it goes right back to World War II, but for this fantastic breath of fresh air, Infinity Ward nets themselves an A.

So I finally have a car that I think is neat enough to get a vanity plate for - hush up, I think they're fun.

Alaska allows six characters (including spaces) for plates, and I've narrowed it down to...

GLADOS
PORTAL
DALEK
TMELRD

Hmm. Decisions, decisions.

Yes, yes they are.





Developed in the early 1900s by one Leon Theremin, the man was trying to come up with a kind of non-contact proximity sensor. Incredible where musical instruments come from, isn't it?

The theremin is one of the only instruments (and I believe the only well-known one) designed to be played without touching it, as it works on principles of electromagnetic field manipulation. In essence, a theremin is two radio-frequency oscillators controlled by sense antennae - one controls volume (and is a fixed oscillator, meaning it works at one frequency) and the other controls the instrument's pitch (a variable oscillator). The principles by which theremins work is exactly the same as moving  your hand around a television or radio antenna to alter its reception -  it is literally played by waving your hands in the air. Unfortunately, you can't do it like you just don't care, or it'll suck.

Most people have heard a theremin at one point or another whether they realise it or not - the theremin was an integral part of many sci-fi shows and movies through the 1980s, and is still used whenever an otherworldly or "alien" sound is required or desired in a score. There are even several living theremin virtuosas, and a company called Moog sells a line of performance-quality pre-built theremins or theremin kits.

Off the top of my head, a couple of places theremins have been used have been in Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit and the new Doctor Who TV series, both during the opening titles. The X-Files and Star Trek both made heavy use of theremins, as did (I believe) Forbidden Planet.

Apparently the Pacific Science Centre in Seattle has a theremin in the lobby of one of the IMAX theatres that you can try to play - I'll have to hit that when I do PAX this year.

Current Mood: Booo-weee-ooooooo

Okay, okay, I'm way behind the times here but bear with me - Alaska is a kind of time machine all on its own.

My mum got me Doctor Who: The Complete First Series from 2005, with Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor.

I have to say, that was some of the best TV I've seen in a good, long time. Eccleston was an amazing actor, and just blew me away with his portrayal of the Doctor. I'm also deeply enamoured with the writing and editing - the Doctor's first confrontation with a Dalek was seriously intense. I hadn't expected them to bring such (believable!) darkness and fire to something that looks like a pepper mill.

Of all the episodes though, I have to say that The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances was probably the most outright creepy. There's something about gas masks, the child's plaintive cries for his mummy, and the masterful manipulation of atmosphere that just was terrifying on a visceral level.

It did an excellent job of balancing between self-referential acknowledgments to how much of a campy show it is ("Who looks at a screwdriver and thinks, 'Ooh, this could be a bit more Sonic?'") and delivering a very solid dramatic content that never felt rushed or incomplete. I'm one of the people that loves seeing what props were made out of (Heavy use of plumbing bits in Doctor Who, which was awesome), so that was really fun too.

So now I finally "get" Doctor Who - and boy, do I feel silly for waiting this long. I was terribly fond of the Ninth Doctor but have heard nothing but praise for David Tennant as the Tenth - so I'm eagerly waiting the arrival of the Series Two box set. Just great, great stuff.

...yes, I cried when he sent Rose home...

Current Mood: EX-TER-MI-NATE