Resurrections and Introductions

Creative Criticality’s blog is back!

I’m resurrecting the WordPress site because I wanted a place for long form blogging, and also because I’ve decided to embark on an exciting journey. More to follow on the adventure in time and space in a minute, but first, the blog.

 

Creative Criticality has been around for a while, but in multiple formats. It was on LiveJournal for a while – that’s where a lot of the prior posts you’ll see in the Archives section come from – and has been on Tumblr and Facebook as well. The latter two still remain open, but LiveJournal will not. Between you, me, and the rest of the internet, I will not miss the DDOS attacks from Russia or the spam comments trying to sell me sex and drugs through shady websites.

As far as WordPress goes, I’m still learning. I appreciate any comments, tips, and tricks to make this thing sing a little better. Feel free to tell me to kill it with fire, but I can’t guarantee that I will.

Anything older than one year, including the old LiveJournal stuff, has had the comments locked. Anything older than 2013 is in the Archives.

Big thanks to Kevin Bachelder for gently nudging me in this direction. You’re right, it is better living in the future.

Next order of business: That adventure thing.

 

I’ve decided to finally watch Doctor Who from the beginning and document the journey. I’ve mentioned in certain circles that I came to the series in the later years starting with Christopher Eccleston’s run. I have watched certain episodes from the past, but the vast majority of the franchise is fresh territory for me. I find the concept quite exciting.

My reviews will be short, probably ranging from 50-200 words unless I really get on a roll. The episodes have been reviewed in-depth across various platforms by numerous people – including by Nathan Laws, one of the people who really inspired me to take a deeper look at the mythology of the Doctor – so I don’t plan on offering deep thematic musings and analysis. It might happen down the road at some point, but not right now.

I also credit John Drew and Gary Mitchel for the little nudges here and there. You’re good folk, and I appreciate it.

I plan to offer a link to each serial’s article on the TARDIS Data Core wiki, and I’ll also offer a “from the gut” rating of each serial.

1/5: “EXTERMINATE!”
2/5: “Mm? What’s that, my boy?”
3/5: “Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow.”
4/5: “Would you care for a jelly baby?”
5/5: “Fantastic!”

The one thing to note about the ratings is that a regeneration episode will have a star added to it. Regeneration episodes have the impossible task of trying to make you like a new main character right away while still trying to carry the story, and I felt it was necessary to compensate for that handicap.

I’ve decided to call it the Timestamps Project. Thanks to Gary for that name.

 

That’s it for now. Please feel free to leave any feedback in the comments. I’ll have the Timestamp for the first Doctor Who serial, An Unearthly Child, on the feed soon.