A break from Who: E-Town Wedding Weekend Adventure

Holly: We are taking a short break from our Doctor Who challenge, mostly for two reasons: 1. because we are dinguses and picked a really, really bad month to do a 30 day challenge, hence the reason why we are so flipping behind, and 2. because we wanted to share the tale of the awesome weekend we had.  We will resume our challenge starting tomorrow.

Yesterday morning Kelly and I woke up semi-earlyish and traveled to Elizabethtown, in the midst of some spotty rain and some fairly windy roads.  The occasion: a wedding that we've known about for quite some time now.  The bride is a friend of ours from Berea, and she worked with Kelly for a while at the Learning Center.  We weren't sure of the goings on in E-town, as known by Kentucky folk, so we left early and arrived at our hotel at about 11.  The wedding wasn't until 2:30.  Our first eyebrow-raiser is that we did not have cell phone service.  ANYWHERE.  Naturally, we needed something to do for a few hours, so we asked the front desk for a mall or something in which to occupy ourselves.  En route to said mall we found a Goodwill, so needless to say, we stopped.  Pretty rockin' Goodwill if I do say so myself.

We got to the mall and Kelly took it upon herself to try to find an outlet so she could plug in her cell phone and try to find where we were going, since, at this point, we still did not have cell phone service (it wouldn't be until just outside of Danville coming home that we finally got back in range).  We ate at an Italian express place and then shopped around for a bit.  Pretty decent mall; nothing like Fayette, but it got the job done and we enjoyed ourselves despite our lack of contact with the outside world.

Kelly: I will continue this story. After we left the mall we decided to make our way to the church, after writing down directions on how to get there. We were on this main stretch of road and the directions told us to go on a bypass, so we found one and were like "uh...is this the right one?" We went on it, not really knowing if it was the right one, but after about a mile or two we started seeing signs for where we were supposed to go. Not going to lie, we were pretty amazed. So then we arrived at the church, watched the wedding, celebrated and then decided to check into our hotel. We checked into our hotel, which was a very lovely Best Western in Elizabethtown (the wedding was in a small town outside of the city) and went from our hotel to the reception. Unbeknownst to me at this point, I left my wallet in our hotel room. The wedding and reception were very lovely and we had a blast at the reception! Lots of good food, a TARDIS cake and lots of dancing. We're still sore from yesterday, needless to say. It was then I realized I left my wallet at the hotel and was worried that I left it at the desk when I checked in. We stayed at the reception until about 7PM, then decided to go to Target and malinger around. We got back to the hotel around 8 that evening and relaxed in the hotel, watched Big Bang Theory and got milkshakes from Wendy's.

This morning we woke up in our hotel, had breakfast and left around 10:15 this morning. While we were driving yesterday it dawned on one of us that we should stop in Danville on the way home to poke around. So we did. It was a lovely day today, a bit warm, but a nice breeze and the sun was out. We walked around Centre's campus, had lunch at a local coffee joint and enjoyed the nice day. We've been home since 2 this afternoon and are still reeling from this really fun and awesome weekend. I don't think either of us are ready to go back to work tomorrow. I like living here in Berea; I love my church, my friends and my job but sometimes it's nice to just get away, especially since we haven't really had the chance to in a while. We always enjoy our getaways when we get them, and this one was no exception.

Post day-in-the-car, post mall trip, post realization-of-no-cell-phone-service, post more-driving, exasperated that we actually made it to the church and actually made it ON TIME! 

A prayer for the new family :)

"You may now kiss the bride." 

The best groom's cake in the history of groom's cakes

Us and the blushing bride.  Apologies for the grossness; we had all just finished dancing like mad :)

30 Days of Doctor Who: Favorite season

Kelly: 3. Still 3. I don't know if that's ever going to change. Season 3 has some of my favorite episodes and story lines, including my favorite favorite (Human Nature/Family of Blood). Season 6 was a VERY close second, but 3 is still my favorite. It also has my second favorite villain, which I will go more in-depth in a couple of days. The writing is the best, and the progression from start to finish is amazing. Watching Martha go from mere sidekick to actual companion is a treat to watch. Although I do wish she would have gotten a somewhat happier ending...not that it was bad by any means. But she loved the Doctor, and he was still grief stricken  over losing Rose...SPOILERS. Plus I really liked Martha's character...don't know why a lot of the Who fandom didn't.

If you're not a fan of the show already, this season will make you love it, in my opinion....baaah. Had to get up and readjust the washing machine. I also like that in this season you learn a bit about the Doctor's home planet and what his people were like. Previously, all we knew was that he was a Time Lord and his home planet was called Gallifrey, and that was about it. Granted we only learn about one other Time Lord, who turns out to not be like the Doctor at all...gaah. Sorry. More spoilers. Just promise me that those who aren't fans of the show will watch it eventually. Pretty please.

Holly: So, since Kelly discussed Season 3, which is pretty stinkin' hard to beat, I'll chat briefly about season 6.  3 and 6 come in a very close tie for me.  6 was such a great season.  It was the second season featuring Eleven, and we were totally disappointed in the 5th season...a lot of the episodes were, just quite frankly, stupid, with no climaxes, no real plot development.  No real plot.  No real anything except a bunch of sub-par episodes...ANYWAY, I digress.  6.  I think what I love the most about this season is that we see more of Amy and Eleven's relationship; it grows so much stronger.  In fact, Eleven and Amy just shine in this season; they both have some great moments, great lines, great conversations, etc.  Plus, we see more of Rory, whom I love to pieces and then some.  I love the story arc with River/Melody (SPOILERS).  "The Doctor's Wife" and "A Good Man Goes to War" are probably some of the best episodes of the revived series, in my opinion.  With the exception of one episode (and even the ending is awesome, at that), every episode I really, really enjoyed.

If you're new to Eleven's run, give it time.  It gets better, SO much better!

30 Days of Doctor Who: Favorite Special

Holly: The End of Time.  Hands down.  Although I haven't watched it since we watched it for the first time back in February.  Kelly watched it not too long ago and she says it's still as good as we remember it to be.  I don't want to ramble on and on and give too much away, but for any of you new fans who are still tredging their way through Ten's run and have fallen in love with him as much as we have...yeah, you're in for a doozy.  Basically a non-stop emotional roller coaster that lasts for 2 hours and then time afterwards: I laughed, I held my breath, I yelled, I cried (yes, you read that correctly).  It was shot beautifully, written beautifully, Ten's exit was pretty much as close to perfect as it gets.  It's a different side of Ten, too; he's much more despondent, almost as if he knows his time is coming to an end.  It's absolutely mesmerizing (and SAD!!!!) to watch. 

Now I feel like I need to sit down and watch it again.  Lord have mercy! 

"I don't wanna go." Spoilers. 

Kelly: There are so many good specials to pick just one. A Christmas Carol from season 6 is up there on the list. I really enjoy that each season begins with a Christmas special. I have to say though, that my favorite is still the first one that I saw; The Christmas Invasion. It's 10's first on-screen episode, and though he has minimal screen time, it's still a good introduction to his character. Plus there are so many funny and witty parts that are symbolic of 10's personality that you pick up on right from the start and Rose really shows as a companion. She has to think like him when he's not there to save the world and has to trust this new face and new personality...SPOILERS. I've watched it probably half a dozen times and will probably never tire of it. 

In fact, me thinks I might pop it in sometime this week and re watch it, just because I enjoy it so much. So that's all. That's all I have to say about The Christmas Invasion. 

"Witchcraft." "Time Lord." 

30 Days of Doctor Who: Favorite Alien

Kelly: While I love the language of the Judoon and the goofiness of the Slitheen, my favorite alien is the Hath.

Hath! 

They're only in one episode in the fourth season, The Doctor's Daughter, and I thought they were terrifying at first! They communicate to each other without words, rather their little green chambers with bubbles. They don't like fighting or war, but in the episode they were in their home was being invaded by humans. Martha befriends one and ends up helping her find the Doctor and Donna. The poor hath ends up losing his life by trying to save Martha. The humans and the hath end their war at the end of the episode, with unfortunate circumstances that lead them to their making up...SPOILERS. Well there you have it. The good ol' Hath.

Holly: So I entertained several possibilities for this one.  First, I thought, well, is Novice Hame an alien?

Nah, I decided.  While she is part cat, cats aren't alien.  So I threw that out.  Then, I thought, well, what about the Face of Boe?

Went with no on that one too.  The Face of Boe is....well, he just is, really.  Don't really want to explain all that.  

So I finally decided on an Ood.  

Ood are a basic slave race; they live by orders.  That's their purpose: to serve, and they are happy to do so.  They don't know anything else.  They speak through a communicator, which is what he's holding, as well as telepathy.  And they sing (sort of...), and it's quite beautiful.  When we first see them in "The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit", they go kind of rogue.  Red eyes, y'all.  Red eyes are bad.  But when their eyes are not red, they're so expressive and sweet.  They're sadly mistreated along the Doctor's journeys, but the Ood eventually come to join the side of The Doctor and Rose, and later Donna, and are with the Tenth Doctor in his final moments.  

I want one.  But rest assured I would treat it with the utmost kindness.

30 Days of Doctor Who: Days 3 and 4

Day 3: Least favorite companion
Day 4: Favorite villain

Kelly: Sorry we are just now getting to blogging today. Yesterday was the Kentucky Derby and we were gallivanting with our friends up in Lexington. Then today was Berea's graduation/pinning ceremony/"oops hey haven't seen you in a while let's catch up" day. So now here we are.

My least favorite companion is...Mickey. Ugh. Never liked the guy from the beginning, but to be fair he does redeem himself near the end of his run. And he ends up with Martha, which is a good combination. Ooops. SPOILERS. Anyway, the actor himself was good, but his character was just...not. That's all. That's all I'm going to say about that. My favorite villain is...DALEKS. I just think they're cute. They wobble when they talk and when they're not trying to exterminate the Doctor, I think they're overall pretty harmless. Well...unless you get in their way. They're kind of a sad race too; they were all killed in the Time War and are the Doctor's worst enemy. But oh my goodness they're like a parasite. THEY NEVER DIE. Oy. And I like their voices. One thing that I love about the show is the writing; I literally sit and wonder how these writers come up with these characters and villains, like the Daleks, the Sontaran, Davros, whoever. It's freaking brilliant! How do they do it?! Ok, that's all I have to say about Mickey and the Daleks. I'm tired.

"Would you like some tea?" 

Holly: I'm just going to skip formalities, introductions, etc, and just jump right in.  Mkay?

My least favorite companion, and I think it's a bit of a stretch to even call her a companion, but she's in the second Tenth Doctor special "Planet of the Dead" and she went by the name of Lady Christina de Souza.  Which, to me, it was even a bit of a stretch to have the title "lady" precede her, because all she did was steal things.  ANYWAY, in general, she really annoyed me.  Like Kelly, I have nothing against the actress (she was excellent in Moffat's "Jekyll" series), but the character just didn't do anything for me.

On to villainy....I know I'm going to get some flack for this, but I have to go with the Weeping Angels.  As much as they terrify me, the concept surrounding them is brilliant, just brilliant.  Something as precious as our sight and as mundane as blinking is the very weapon that drives these stone menaces.  They don't kill; essentially they snatch you and drop you off in a different time period, basically "living" their victims to death.  And you can't blink. Like I said, brilliant.  Absolutely terrifying, but brilliant.  I'm afraid of them, fo shiz.

It's ok, y'all didn't need to sleep tonight anyway, right? 

30 Days of Doctor Who: Favorite companion

Holly and Kelly: Once again, all together now...ROSE!!

And no, it's not just because she's blonde (although that definitely helps...ha).  We love how she loves; for crying out loud, she's the only soul in existence who has pity for a freakin' Dalek.  And that's saying something, y'all.  She's sweet, she's funny, we think she brings out the best in Nine, and we LOVE her relationship with Ten.  She's us, in a way: strong but stubborn, loving, compassionate, and loyal.  Her loyalty to the Doctor is unmatched and rare.  Very rare.

And we also think she's the companion that the Doctor loves, truly loves.  Just watch her run if you don't believe us :)

"I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demi gods and would-be gods- out of all that, out of that whole pantheon- if I believe in one thing, just one thing, I believe in her." -Tenth Doctor, "The Satan Pit"

30 Days of Doctor Who: Favorite Doctor

Holly and Kelly: And the winner by unanimous vote....10!!!!

Don't get me wrong, we love all the doctors we've seen. We started watching when 9 debuted, and we're currently watching 11. We love them both very much. But 10 won over our hearts and then some. And how can't you love him?! He's funny, quirky, lovable and let's face it, he's ridiculously adorable! Not to mention David Tennant plays him so well. Now that we've got that out of the way, why do we love 10 so much? Other than what has been mentioned above, there is so much more to him than his general adorableness. He sees the good in every body, no matter what their back stories are. He chooses his companions because on the outside they're just ordinary people, but he sees potential in them to change the world. And while they're helping him change the world (and themselves), they're changing him too. They become his family.  We love his heart- to him, every life is sacred.  He tries to redeem those who seem too far gone.  

But he's also not perfect. He makes a terrible mistake when he tries to mess with time, and that mistake costs him his life. At first he tries to run from it, but he soon realizes he can't and has to face it. This is also why we like him; we can relate to him. We've lost people in our life, we've made and lost friends and we've wanted to take try and take things back.  We've felt alone even in a room full of people, and that's also a big reason we love him- he seems real to us.  Human, almost.  Speaking of human, he even becomes human for a while (now THAT'S a heck of a storyline if you're interested...)

What can we say? He's our Doctor :)