First Christmas Special! First Tenth Doctor Story! First new aliens of Series 2! Longest episode so far! Weeee!!

When one hears the phrase ‘Christmas Special’, one tends to think about terrible American sitcoms that involve people buying the wrong presents for each other, and eating turkey.  And there is, I think, a tendency for people to want something light and fluffy for their Christmas Day viewing. To an extent, The Christmas Invasion, does do this. But, it also has the massive job of introducing a whole new incarnation of the Doctor, and reestablishing his relationship with his companion – Rose – and the people he knows. So in a sense, having Christmas occur in the background makes a lot of sense – there is a lot of imagery already associated with Christmas involving birth, the beginning of a new era, and all that. Whether this was just a happy coincidence, however, we’ll never know.

What do we do when the Doctor isn’t there to save us? Indeed, it is the Doctor who needs saving the most here, which makes for some interesting Doctor Who. This could almost be seen as a Doctor-lite episode, simply because he doesn’t do very much except lie around in his pyjamas. It is up to the people of the story, then, to try and sort out the alien threat coming toward them. Even Rose is, for the most part, a little bit useless. Which is fair, I think, considering that she has just seen the man she loves most turn into someone else. That’s enough to shock anyone into inaction. But when she does try, she does so with such . Even though she has found her feet around the universe with the Doctor, once he leaves her, she reverts back to a scared young woman, trying her best to stop her home planet from being invaded by these terrifying creatures using cheap parlour tricks to play with their food before they eat it. Rose knows some of the words and ideas that the Doctor uses, but she doesn’t know how to put them together properly. And so she is laughed at. Not, I think, great for one’s morale, particularly in the face of a giant room of scary aliens, with the weight of the world on one’s shoulders. But when the Doctor finally wakes up, everything is fine. Kudos to David Tennant for being able to turn on a coin and provide us with these two personas, and so effortlessly be the Doctor in an instant.

And there’s an interesting message to take away here, too, I think. The solution put forward by the government – the face of humanity (as a group) in this story – is one that involves death and destruction; it’s a very xenophobic reaction, I think. Though, granted, somewhat understandable. So is this what we become when the Doctor isn’t there to make us better? Killing machines bent on defending our own space no matter the cost? Because the Doctor’s decision to drive these people out with a noble sword fight – and then to pointedly not kill the Sycorax leader – shows him to be a man far more dedicated to the diplomatic approach, towards the ‘no shedding of blood’ end of the spectrum. This juxtaposition of the two sides is made even more apparent when Harriet Jones still decided to shoot off the Torchwood weapon anyway, allowing the new Doctor to show his not so subtle side. And yet again, here, he chooses to use words, not violence, to achieve his aims.

What of the personality of this new Doctor, then? Clearly, he is a lot happier than the Ninth Doctor was, he is more prone to babbling nonsense, and yet, underneath all of this, there is a definite anger. No second chances – that’s the sort of man he is. He is quick to jump on his high horse and tell people when he thinks they are wrong, particularly if he has already warned them once. Self righteous – there’s a good word for you.

There’s also a definite shift away from the Ninth Doctor’s tendency to distance himself from the domestic life of his companions. At the end of The Christmas Invasion, the Tenth Doctor is happy to sit down at the Christmas table of the family of his friend, and partake in a meal. His banter with Jackie and Mickey also seems to be taking a turn for the better. Perhaps the Doctor, having shed the skin of his battered Ninth incarnation, is finally ready to let people into his life again, and just be happy.

To new beginnings, then. The beauty of Doctor Who is that casting possibilities are endless – indeed, they are vital to the lifeblood of the show. Companions come and go, the Doctor changes, though everything is the same. I think Steven Moffat said it best when he said that he doesn’t write for a specific Doctor – he just writes for THE Doctor. And The Christmas Invasion sends us off on the next part of this extraordinary man’s life.

The Old Spawn.com Anime Series (I think from 2006) showed us pretty nice figures for that time. I was so enchanted with this Naomi that I paid R$130.00 (about US$ 55.00 that time), and I conquered my first Figure.

For the photos, today you can see the awesome the difference of my first figure to the latest ones. I didn’t regret to buy this one, but I do understand how much ugly became this figure. Let’s go for details and no more speech.

Name: Naomi
Manufacture: McFarlane Toys
Series: ARMITAGE III
Size: No Scale
Type: PVC Sculpture
Release date: 2006
Extras:
- 1 laser pistol;
- 1 handcuffs;
- 1 White Figure Support.

More Photos:

Well I’ve just indulged in my little pleasure of watching Merlin tonight on TV and what an episode it was! Much better than the previous few offerings I would say (although anything with lots of Arthur scenes is always going to be a winner in my book!)
Arthur losing a fight to a girl was very funny as was Merlin’s mocking of him losing the fight. Yay for girl power. Poor Arthur is so embarrassed.
Slightly jealous of Morgause’s hair in this ep. How on earth does she get it to look so amazing? Surely even though this is a time of myth and magic they don’t that have many styling products? Maybe she’s been borrowing them from Morgana? And how does she get her hair to look so amazing after having a helmet on? So unfair!
Plenty of amazing outfits in this episode too. The amazing long brown coat that Arthur seems to love is back, as is King Uther’s wonderful padded jacket. The girls had amazing dresses. Huge fan of the red one that Morgause wore in her little witchy castle. Poor Gwen and Merlin are still stuck with the same old clothes again.
And shock! Morgause is actually Morgana’s half sister? Is this why she finally decides to go bad and leave King Uther and Arthur? I’m guessing from the end of the episode that we’ll be seeing her again. Lots of Nimuh staring at Arthur in crystals and such going on again. At least she’s solved the not sleeping problem for Morgana. Maybe now that she’s sleeping she’ll remember to turn up and spend a bit longer in the episodes.
The actual episode was rather fun this week. Much lighter than the previous witchfinder one. Loved Arthur essentially being grounded in his room and then Merlin helping him escape with the not quite long enough rope. Can’t help but wonder why no one noticed the horses were missing or saw them leave. Never mind. The guards around Camelot aren’t the best, obviously.
Poor Sir Leon is back and failing miserably to find Arthur. Love how he takes a couple of knights with him to see Uther to say that they couldn’t find Arthur just to receive the advice of look harder.
The horse leading the way was another nice touch with Merlin looking rather sceptical about the whole thing (and yet we didn’t guess that Morgause was a witch? They really are a bit thick in Camelot aren’t they?) Arthur dismisses the idea and even asks Merlin what he knows about magic. (Best not to get me started on how many times Merlin has managed to use magic right next to someone and not get noticed. He’s even stood next to Uther and shouted a spell or two!). How no bosy noticed Merlin about to do a bit of magic to save Arthur’s head I don’t know. It would appear that Morgause isn’t that observant either.
The bit with Arthur’s mum just made me want to hug Arthur. So sad. Lets all blame Uther though. It’s all for the best. Loved the bit about how she would willingly give her life for him now she has seen him grow up. Pity she mentioned the whole thing about him knowing someone would have to die for Arthur to be born. I could of sworn that in series 1 in a discussion between Nimuh and Uther he denies knowing that…
Back to Camelot we have an angry Arthur fighting Uther and trying to kill him. Dunno why none of the guards seemed to notice what was happening. Earlier in the episode they’d all heard Morgause kill a guard outside the room. The swords were making enough noise and there was lots of shouting. Great acting at this part by a sad and angry Bradley. Loved that Arthur is a better sword fighter than his dad. Maybe he needs to give him a few lessons?
Then… Merlin comes in (after shouting at Gaius for not telling him about Arthur and apparently not realising he would go try and kill his dad) and tells Arthur it was all a trick and that magic is evil. You idiot Merlin! Arthur was on your side and didn’t think magic was all evil.
Now at the very end we are all happy with Merlin. Uther even pays a visit to say he’s a great chap and is a wonderful ally against magic. If only he knew… Arthur thinks Merlin saved him when we has cursed or some other rubbish and is now totally against magic again. Gaius is happy about it too but I tuned out because he’s always happy at the end with whatever Merlin does.
So next week… back to Merlin keeping the magic secret… or as the rest of it call it… shouting spells really loudly and waving your arms about whilst casting the spells whilst stood next to someone who magically ignores you. Oh dear.

In this weeks show the Manager lets the artist know he has sorted out the PR, The artist catch’s the Editor up to no good at the local newsagents the Artist goes to Birmingham to watch Markus the Sadist and the manager is back up to his old tricks.

**CONTEST BEGINS Oct. 24th**

Hey everyone! It’s Nike here to announce a HUGE Halloween Igloo Contest. Why is it HUGE? It’s HUGE because I’m giving away these Coin Code prizes…

1st Place — GRAND PRIZE — will receive 2 Series 4 Coin Code(s)… worth 4 items in said Treasure Book.

2nd Place — Runner-up — will receive 1 Series 4 Playset Code… worth 3 items in said Treasure Book.

3rd Place — Runner-up — will receive 1 Series 3 Coin Code… worth 2 items in said Treasure Book.

And at Random, 2 lucky penguins will be selected to receive 1 Series 3 Code Code (each)… worth 2 items in said Treasure Book.

Here is the way Nike (me) and Icy are judging the Igloos.

• Creativity
• Style
• Spookiness
• Halloween Spirit

If you your Igloo meets all of those standards, then I suggest you enter this contest!

TO ENTER, PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO nikeandicycpc@gmail.com CONTAINING A PICTURE OF YOUR IGLOO AND YOUR PENGUINS NAME/PICTURE.

Starting and Ending Dates

The contest will being on October 24th, 2009….. and end on October 30th, 2009 (the day before Halloween).

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!

~Nike~

P. S. – We are in no way associated with Club Penguin, this is our own contest.

He’s back!

Hi Guys!

There’s lots happening all over the island – like Sensei’s scavenger hunt, and more on the way for ninjas (your guesses all week were really cool, by the way). There’s even ninja stuff happening OFF the island!! Check out this new Sensei penguin toy:

We’ve heard that some of you’ve had a hard time finding the toys, so we’re excited to let you know they’re available in more places now – like Target in the US – hopefully they’ll be easier to spot now! Be sure to let us know.

Card-Jitsu Trading Cards Series 2 are in stores now too, and the team’s always working on new stuff, so if you have ideas for trading cards, we’d love to know what you’d like to see!

This is what the Penguin Team says guys! I really hope I helped!

Have a Nice Day,

~Henry515

    okay guys, the title says it all. I am officially the first site to post up a  series 5 coin code give away. Ok guys, I know you’re excited. Series 5? Well, it’s series 5! If you win the coin code, please please PLEASE comment that you got it an i’ll mark out the code. Thank you.

e3fermbxd

Good Luck!!!!

I was able to score a San Diego Comic Convention Kidrobot Fatcap Purple Version designed by Deph. This piece was limited to 200 pieces at the convention only.

I also grabbed the same Fatcap in Green (online version limited to 1200)

The two brothers together out in the wild and battling a menacing Kitty:

I also grabbed a very good deal on a Golden Ticket 6 inch Fatcap Designed by TooFly. (this piece was limited to 400 pieces worldwide)

Well, somewhat of a win.  I picked up a 20 card lot on eBay thinking it would take a big chunk out of my wantlists.  Turns out I only needed 8 of them, including one I didn’t even know was in the set.

Wikipedia says Jim Palmer’s nickname is “Cakes.”  I’ve never heard that before.  Apparently it’s because he loves to eat pancakes.  Awesome.  He’s the only pitcher to win a World Series game in three different decades, and even more impressive is that he never gave up a grand slam.  Ever.  That’s over 550 games and almost 4000 innings.

I don’t have much to say about this one, but it’s a nice looking card of Campy.  Same picture as his Career Best Legends card, though, which is a bit of a disappointment.  I hope Topps has some new images for next year when they pump these CMG guys out once again.

Now, since I only needed 8 of these guys, I’ve got 12 extra for trade, plus a few I’ve pulled from packs here and there.  So if you are putting together the Legends of the Game set, I’ve got these for trade:

LG2 Honus Wagner x2
LG10 Jimmie Foxx
LG11 Lou Gehrig
LG18 Roger Maris
LG19 Bob Gibson
LG25 Cal Ripken Jr.
LG-FT Frank Thomas
LG-JS John Smoltz
LG-MS Mike Schmidt
LG-PM Paul Molitor
LG-RS Ryne Sandberg
LG-TG Tony Gwynn
LG-Th Trevor Hoffman
LG-VG Vladimir Guerrero
LG-WB Wade Boggs

If you need any of these, send me an email and we’ll work something out. I’m currently 13 cards short of completing both series, so if you’ve got extras take a look at my wantlist when you get a chance.

Also, can someone explain why the Braves get four freakin’ guys in this set (Smoltz, Glavine, Chipper, and Maddux) while the Reds get bupkis (Rose, Morgan, Bench, Larkin, Foster, Davis, Kluszewski)? Even Frank Robinson shows up as an Oriole even though he played close to half his 21 year career in Cincinnati and spent only 7 in Baltimore. What kind of anti-Cincinnati bias does Topps have?

Thanks for taking a fun variation that people were looking forward to within the hobby and screwing it all up.

Sincerely,
Hand Collated

P.S. In a way, I’m kind of glad you went and made the dark and retro parallels only 2 packs per blaster box. That way I won’t feel the urge to spend lots of money on these things and can instead save up for other family related things. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s going to not spend money on this new found idiocy, either.

Thanks for helping me find the positive Topps.  I’ll enjoy my money more without sending it to you.

P.P.S.  I’m writing this with only three hours sleep in the last 27 hours.  Here’s hoping it makes sense.

I have a feeling I’ll say this every time, but that goodness Topps went halvsies on the Red Hot Rookie redemption set.  Ten is a much better number, even if the folks at Schoolhouse Rock didn’t make a song about it.

Okay, so I know I’m late to this one, but for consistency sake, here goes:

Coming into the season, Hanson was a top 10 prospect.  Not just in the Braves organization, but in baseball overall.  Not bad for a guy who signed for $325k back in 2006.  Hanson is a potential ace and will now be known as the guy who the Braves cut Tom Glavine for.  Awesome mantle for a young kid to claim.

So far, it hasn’t affected him negatively.  After a shaky first start, he’s given up 6 runs in his last 6 starts (35 innings) and struck out 20 over that same time frame.  So far the only concern would be his walk total (20), but so far he’s been saved by the lack of hits he’s given up.

The 2009 Topps Red Hot Rookies:

#1 Fernando Martinez, OF, Mets
#2 Gordon Beckham, SS, White Sox (1 in 10 will be auto’ed)
#3 Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pirates
#4 Tommy Hanson, P, Atlanta

See what happens, Topps, when you cut the Red Hot Rookie set in half?  You get rookies people may actually want!  And well designed cards help, too.  It’s Topps Series 2 Red Hot Rookie #3, Andrew McCutchen!

McCutchen is ranked #2 by Baseball America in the Pirates organization this year behind Pedro Alvarez, last years 1st rounder for Pittsburgh.  McCutchen for now projects as a lead off type hitter, although if his power develops he’d be better suited hitting third.  He’s still learning how to steal bases, too.

Since his call up, though, he’s been hitting .333 with 1 HR and 2 SBs.  Pittsburgh will give him plenty of time to learn the game at the major lrague level since they have nothing to lose by doing so.

The 2009 Topps Red Hot Rookies:

#1 Fernando Martinez, OF, Mets
#2 Gordon Beckham, SS, White Sox (1 in 10 will be auto’ed)
#3 Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pirates

Here’s the auto I pulled from my 2009 Topps Jumbo box:

I don’t want to look a gift Red in the mouth here, but if you’re going to have a insert set called “Career Best,”  shouldn’t you make sure the guy on the front has an actual career?  Because right now, there’s not much to Dickerson’s, as evidenced by the card back:

Wow!  Chris has a career high of 1 HR in a game, something he’s done five times!  Let’s give him his own autographed insert!

I’m not saying that Dickerson won’t have a career, but I am saying he hasn’t put up a really god one quite yet.  I think he should be playing more than a certain CF the Reds have that’s gone 8 for his last 94 at the plate and given a chance, but that’s just me.  And a lot of other Reds fans.  Just not Dusty Baker.