Welcome to my LiveJournal. I'm a science fiction writer with a growing collection of published short stories, and my collection Unwelcome Bodies is currently available from Apex Publications. It includes, among other stories, "Captive Girl," which was a 2007 Nebula finalist and which made the 2007 Gaylactic Spectrum Awards short list. I started this journal to have a place to talk about writing and the writing life, although you'll probably notice various digressions into belly dance and politics.

Please note that anonymous comments that aren't signed will be deleted.

I've now watched all five parts of Torchwood: Children of Earth. I'd planned to wait for them to show on BBC America, because I'd heard that they would air here the same day that they aired in the U.K., and wouldn't be cut beyond some f-bombs. But when I found out that they would be aired earlier in the U.K. after all, I figured I couldn't trust them on the cutting issue, and went to the magical internet fairies for them. I'd been warned that episode 4 would make me angry, and...

( Well, here's where the major spoilers start. Seriously, they're massive. )

Spoilers are welcome in the comments.

Andy and I watched as much of Merlin as TiVo grabbed for us. I can see why the slashers love it, which is to say that it's crack-tastic, but it's not actually good. We decided we weren't drunk enough to hunt down the rest of the episode online, nor did we want to get that drunk, because we are old and our livers don't grow back that quickly anymore.

I was amused by how much of a Doctor Who reunion it was, though. And Andy spent quality time frothing over the huge errors in Arthurian lore being committed on screen, so I suppose he probably could count it as his cardio for the day.

Any teenaged girl who finds Twilight romantic rather than creepy should watch this:

http://blip.tv/file/2261825/

And then they should watch the first two or three seasons of Buffy.

What happened to the baby boy Janet had last season? Did he just flat-out vanish? In this most recent episode, Tommy and Janet take off for the weekend, and I don't recall any talk of leaving the baby with someone. I remember Sheila wanted him, but she doesn't seem to have him either.

How is it that Dollhouse gets renewed and The Sarah Connor Chronicles doesn't? Oh, right, quality doesn't equal ratings. Feh.

2010? 2010?!? AUGH!!!!!

(Subtitles for the Lost impaired: The season finale was tonight. Spoilers welcome in the comments.)

( Here be massive spoilers for the end of the episode )

Spoilers welcome in the comments.

Light spoiler for last night's episode: ( The question )

Also, an observation that contains a light spoiler: ( The observation )

Spoilers are welcome in the comments.

Were it not for that magical site, I would still be scratching my head over the non-ending of the finale of "Ashes to Ashes" last night. I had thought that, like "Life on Mars," it was a one-season show, and I was really irritated that they hadn't wrapped things up. Better yet, the next season starts showing on BBC America next month. Still, I find myself wondering how long they can sustain it. Alex should by all rights be locked up in a mental hospital rather than walking around carrying a badge. But hey, it's her construct, right?

ETA: Iris points out that "Life on Mars" was actually a two season show. I had no clue -- BBC America ran it straight through, so it seemed like only one season to me. U.S. television has conditioned me to expect 22 episodes a season.

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/04/house-exclusive.html

Dude! Congrats!

Seriously, even if you don't watch the show, you want to read this.

Spoilers welcome in the comments.

( Buh! That came out of nowhere. )

( Bonus WTF for genre writers -- no need to be a House fan to appreciate this. )

Spoilers welcome in the comments.

ETA: Holy shit! Read my update for some seriously good news.

I totally fucking love Sayid.

Spoilers welcome in the comments.

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2009/03/battlestar_galactica_ronald_d.html

This explains what they were thinking, at least, as they wrote the finale.

Also, there's some really interesting discussions going on in the previous BSG thread that I still need to jump in on. I'm not ignoring you! I'm just exhausted and haven't had the mental energy to write up good responses yet.

It was cathartic, yes, but good? No.

(The icon isn't an indication of how I felt about the episode -- it's just me trying to go to my Starbuck happy place.)

( What the frack?!? )

*sigh*

As I watched, I kept wavering between being touched by the genuinely touching moments, and disbelief that this was really the ending. I had higher hopes than this. Still, it was a hell of a ride, even if it couldn't stick the landing.

My excuse? I had a couple of drinks in me. It's a shame so many good actors got wrapped up in this project, because from what I've seen, it's not that good, and it'll deserve its inevitable early cancellation.

For starters, the concept doesn't work as a present-day show. We are nowhere near having the kind of technology required for that brain wiping and re-mapping, and as such, I cannot suspend my disbelief. If the show were campy fun (like "Eureka"), then I probably could, but it's not. All they had to do was set it ever so slightly in the future, and the problem would have been solved. Alas, they did not.

Secondly, the people running the Dollhouse are evil overlords. They're short-sighted and amoral. I mean, honestly, any show that contains a pivotal scene that wouldn't have happened if only the henchman had thought to lock the door is clearly being written straight out of the evil overlord handbook.

Thirdly, whose idea was it to use Dolls who are recognizable people? Wouldn't the smart thing to do be to either give them extensive plastic surgery once you wiped their minds? Or if that's not feasible for whatever reason, wouldn't it be smart to recruit them from tiny towns, thousands of miles away, where people are so poor that they never travel farther than 20 miles from where they grew up? Or, perhaps, from poverty-stricken countries half a world away? Right, I forgot, they're evil overlords.

Opening scene? Totally pasted on. It also looked like they filmed the first run-through and not a rehearsed performance, because everything in it felt forced.

I suspect it's a step towards equality when they put in as much gratuitous boy flesh (hello, Helo!) as girl flesh, but it's a dubious victory.

I could say more, but I don't feel like putting in a spoiler cut, plus there's really no point. I'll just wrap up by saying that I'll be surprised if this show finds an audience. If it had been packaged more as an adventure show, with Echo always doing something daring, that would draw an audience. If this were more science fictional, that would draw an audience (although probably not on Fox). As it is, it's just an interesting idea that's been poorly thought out. Joss Wheadon, please join Russell T Davies in the Home for Tapped-Out SF TV Writers for a while. The two of you need a long rest.

BSG doesn't do very well by its queer human characters, now does it?

( Spoilers for the show, Razor, and the recent webisodes below the cut )

We can only hope they do better with the prequel series.

First, Mme. de Pompadour, now his own daughter:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1126779/Former-Doctor-Who-Peter-Davison-reveals-daughter-fell-love-David-Tennant.html

I suspect (hope) she's the first person to have a Doctor for a father and another for a boyfriend.

Mind you, I still find this far less creepy than finding out that the actor who plays Dexter Morgan has just married the actor who plays his sister. I know it's not technically incest, but damn, it feels like it.

I finally watched Monday's episode of Heroes, and while the bulk of it is dull as dirt, I'm intrigued by what they're doing with Sylar.

Although, is it me, or is Noah an idiot? ( Here be spoilers. )

Tomorrow's must-see TV? The VP debate. Tonight? Pushing Daisies. Whee!

The new fall TV season has me feeling rather overwhelmed, and I'm thinking I may need to drop some shows. I think this is the full list of everything I'm watching in prime time:

Dexter
True Blood
Sarah Connor Chronicles
Heroes
Boston Legal
Bones
The New Adventures of Old Christine *
Pushing Daisies
My Name is Earl
Ugly Betty

(* = starting this week, I can only catch this when both Bones and Pushing Daisies are in repeats, because ABC doesn't stream this show online, and since it's just a "me" show and not a "we" show, it loses.)

I'm very likely going to drop Ugly Betty if this week's ep doesn't thrill me. I'm also thinking about dropping Heroes. I haven't watched last night's ep yet, but again, if it's unthrilling, I'll probably drop it. And if I'm later told that things got better, I'll either catch up online or see if there's anyone I can borrow the DVDs from. Sarah Connor wasn't great last night, but I'm still enjoying it more than Betty or Heroes, and since I hear it's probably going away after another handful of episodes, I'd like to stick with it to the end.

And that should give me a little more free time which I can then turn into writing time. Because between TV and dancing, I haven't had much of that.