In the past, my thoughts at this time of year have been both expansive and tangential, but it seems like the weather is on everyone's mind right now--rain and snow and other climatological calamities seem to be affecting the people I know all over the world.

When that sort of thing happens, it's best to follow the example of someone who's not of this world. As you can see, the Tenth Doctor doesn't let something as slight as having his home snowed in get him down, but rather makes the most of the situation:



Even the Time Lord's greatest enemies know how to get in the spirit of the season, if you prefer to spend your Christmas with a Dalek:



On another note, this is probably my last blog post of the year (and the decade!), although I'll still be around over the weekend to take in the festive cheer before my trip. After that, I'm not sure how much I'll be online whilst in Chicago...

I can check my email from there, but I don't know how often I'll be doing that (and I doubt I'll be reading my friendslist until I get back), so if you want to get my attention, comment with a link if there's something I should know about.

From Earth to Gallifrey to Skaro, and all points in between, Happy Holidays!

Since this year's edition of the limerick challenge seems to have interested absolutely no one, perhaps I should just change the subject. :/

I know I've had past issues with the Canadian treatment of the Doctor Who franchise, but all things considered, the CBC used to treat the show really well, especially back in the halcyon days of its first new series.

( Canada Loves/Hates The Doctor )

If you're not completely sick of me talking about this franchise, you should take a look at "Music of the Spheres," a special mini-episode from last year (presumably set between "Journey's End" and "The Next Doctor") which tied into The Proms at the Royal Albert Hall:


I watched "Voyage of the Damned" on YouTube shortly after it aired in the UK--which proved to be a very good idea, in retrospect--but I hope that with its new precedent, Space might now continue to air future specials (and perhaps the next series proper) on Canadian television, without the cuts the CBC was becoming well-known for making prior to broadcast...

Otherwise, this might be the only option left for Canadians to keep up with The Doctor's travels.

In honour of the currently playing Sex and the City (already past the US$120 million mark at the box office as of this writing), I thought I'd take a look at that rarest of categories to which it belongs: the feature film which exists in the same continuity as the television series which spawned it.

We've all noticed how many television series have been "reimagined" for their feature film incarnations. The "classic" Masters of the Universe is an early example (though the practice goes at least as far back as Dr Who and the Daleks), but this trend really got going in the early 1990's, with films like The Fugitive, Maverick, and The Flintstones (the latter two released only a week apart). Fortunately or unfortunately, the trend died out before coming back in full force over the past few years with newer titles, such as Starsky & Hutch and Thunderbirds, which sometimes took "faithfulness to the original source material" to comedic extremes.

Every once in a while, though, a television series is allowed to simply continue its timeline on the silver screen, maintaining the same fictional universe and advancing that story. Of course, both approaches to television material are still going strong in this summer's upcoming releases, as evidenced by tomorrow's Get Smart and the return of Mulder and Scully, which I'll get into more in a moment.

Here are ten highlights of the same-continuity approach:

• Batman (1966) is the earliest example of this phenomenon that comes to mind. The casting of Lee Meriwether as Catwoman might make this placement arguable, but the fact that she was played by two other actresses in the series seems to nullify that argument.
  
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and its sequels are probably the best-known examples, and definitely the most successful. Star Trek: Generations (1994) brought the TNG crew into the same arena, sticking around through Star Trek: Nemesis (2002). From all accounts so far, next year's Star Trek will stay within the canon.
  
• The Transformers: The Movie (1986) is essentially the ultimate episode of the show, offering a level of animation (and swearing and violence) not present or even possible on television of the period...along with one seriously hard-rocking soundtrack. Many a child of the 1980's can still remember being traumatised by the death of Optimus Prime.
  
• Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) provided a rather inscrutable prequel to the series, filled with David Lynch's typical signature weirdness. One of the Holy Grails for Peaks Freaks is the large number of deleted scenes filmed for this movie, so much so that there's an entire site devoted to making sure they see the light of day.
  
• Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) made it into cinemas based on the success of its parent animated series, and fits snugly into the DC Animated Universe.
  
• The X-Files (Fight the Future) (1998), set between the fifth and sixth seasons of the show, upped the production values and offered a first look at how filming in Los Angeles would differ from filming in Vancouver, but otherwise stayed safely within the confines of series mythology (to the point that the "Previously on The X-Files" recap in the next episode to air included clips from the film). The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008) returned to Vancouver for filming and will presumably let us in on what the characters have been up to since the series ended.
  
• South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (2000) is basically an expletive-filled, extra-long musical episode of the show. My use of "continuity" might be debatable where something like South Park is concerned, but various elements introduced in the movie have since appeared in the series.
  
• Highlander: Endgame (2000), unlike its cinematic predecessors, continues the story of Highlander: The Series protagonist Duncan MacLeod and passes the torch to him from his clansman Connor. It's possible that Highlander: The Source (which I still haven't watched) also exists in the continuity of the series, but (even sight unseen) I would be quite in favour of creating yet another new Highlander continuity to accommodate that film, based on everything I've heard.
  
• Serenity (2005), naturally, has to be included in a list like this, as it provided the Big Damn Heroes of Firefly new life in the cinema...not that that worked out so well for them, at least from a financial perspective. Hope springs eternal for a sequel.
  
• Strangers with Candy (2006) serves as a prequel to the Comedy Central series. It's a little easier to follow than Fire Walk with Me in that regard, though both movies feature series characters who have either been recast or gone missing.
  

(N.B. I've left out any feature films based on comedy sketches, like Strange Brew or Wayne's World, as well as projects which were intended for television but had a theatrical release internationally, like the original pilots for Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and even Twin Peaks itself, which solved the murder of Laura Palmer in its theatrical version!)

Now that I've got this linking extravaganza out of the way, have I neglected any of your favourites from this category...?

Despite originally planning to, I did not end up attending Winnipeg's Pride March today, but GLBT issues have still been on my mind...

Fortunately, I think the situation in Canada is pretty good (though not perfect) at this point in history, and hopefully, things are starting to turn around in the United States as well. I'm encouraged by the recent court decision allowing same-sex marriage in California (even if there are those already trying to undo it), and if some people could keep themselves from getting worked up about things like girls kissing at baseball games, the more rational Americans would be much better off.

(One of the few things that makes me sad about Barack Obama's presidential candidacy is that, while he's pretty good on these issues, he does not support same-sex marriage. :/)

Before I go, I should also offer up a somewhat related (and belated) plug, even though I'm quite behind on my viewing, for lampbane's excellent analysis of sexual orientation in the writings of Russell T Davies, ultimately arriving at the conclusion that Torchwood Isn't Gay Enough.

It's bad enough that the CBC has waited this long to start airing the third series of Doctor Who in Canada, and haven't even bothered to start airing Torchwood (despite the fact they co-produce both shows), but this was the actual, verbatim description of "Smith and Jones" in Winnipeg's local TV listings on Monday:

Kudos to writers of the season-two finale for not making the new companion a substitute for Rose. This episode marks the beginning of the third season as well as the involuntary entrance of med student Martha (Freema Agyeman). The first - and very brief - time viewers met her was when she appeared in her wedding gown on TARDIS, much to the Doctor's horrified amazement.



Seriously, how many seconds of research would it have taken this anonymous copywriter to learn that these are two separate people?

And really, "on TARDIS?" (The listing's italics, not mine.) Did this person even watch the episode? Or the show? Ever?

I haven't had a chance to watch "Smith and Jones" yet (plans are to do so with xandersgirl later this week), and I'm still relatively spoiler-free, but I didn't get that confused. Of course, it doesn't help that the CBC also aired "The Runaway Bride" and "Smith and Jones" in reverse order...

I've decided to cleanse my fannish palate with John Barrowman's rendition of the opening music. Feel free to do the same. :)