ElleryAnne

And early TZ appearances from three men who became much better known some years after Star Trek went into syndication: James Doohan - "Valley of the Shadow" Leonard Nimoy - "A Quality of Mercy" William Shatner - "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" and "Nick of Time"

True, Spencer does seem to be getting more of a winning edit than Tasha. I think Tasha's social game is a bit more than being nice, though, and I think she may be able to represent herself well in front of the jury. She did work to sway a couple of votes (notably involving Kass, and with mixed results), and she can make a case for saving Spencer back on the Brains tribe. (I'm not saying she'd be 100% accurate, since she and Kass both decided between J'Tia and Spencer after Tasha had successfully swayed Kass' vote the previous time, but Tasha did move herself into something of a power position in that little tribe.) I know pre-merge play doesn't carry much weight, but it's something. If she needs to demonstrate more of a play, she has the Tony-paranoia stuff, which she instigated to further her game, as well.

Tom Hardy, esp. in RocknRolla, but also in Inception. And most of the cast of Inception, really. JGL has been a crush of mine since we were both teens. Also Val Kilmer. Please don't judge me too harshly for that. I just find him really compelling.

I would've switched it around. It seems like the jury likes Tasha, and I would think that players who appreciate the game would give her points for her immunity challenge wins. I think she could beat Spencer in F3. I think Spencer can probably beat anyone except Tasha, though depending on what happens between now and then, I think Tony could possibly beat Spencer. (Spencer's best chance to win if he's in F3 with Tony would be for the third finalist to be Kass, of course.)

ITA. And in that vein, I'd like them to stop giving them so much via reward challenges. I suppose they feel a need to provide flint since so few contestants seem to show up possessing fire-making skills, but I'm tired of them getting meals and spices and pillows. (I'd just as soon they not give them the flint, either.) I want them to split a Snickers bar once a season and make do with rice and beans and whatever they can catch the rest of the time. I always think this has potential. Back in the Koror/Ulong season, the friendship Stephenie struck up with Tom and Ian pre-tribe-picking made me think it could be a game-changer. It wasn't, of course, but I like the dynamic it affords for a future season as an occasional thing. Yes. Forever yes. Same with an outcast tribe. Once a person's been voted out, they should be gone for good.

I cheered out loud when Tash won the challenge - again. Happy to see that Tash and Spencer are attempting some gameplay and not just resigning themselves to their fate. I was also glad to hear Tony admit that his paranoia could be Spencer-induced. All in all, this is one of the more self-aware groups I've seen on this show in some time. Kass is grating my last nerve. I'm trying to remember why I used to like her, but it escapes me now. I just want her gone.

AO3, definitely. I can download the stories to my kindle and read them at my leisure, and click a link to go back to the online story to give kudos when I'm done. FF doesn't offer that kind of ease. Also, I think AO3 attracts more people who take the time to have their works beta'ed. A couple of XF slash archives that are still around from the show's heyday: The Basement Ter/Ma To the best of my knowledge, Ter/Ma hasn't been updated in years, but has a good-sized collection of XF slash - mainly Krycek-centric. I think The Basement is still open for new works - as recently as a year ago I was seeing new stuff from one or two authors. And for tracking down fics (i.e., when you've forgotten the name, or if you're looking for specific type of plot): X-Files Story Finders

I just tried a bunch more times, and I only find those, too. Such a bummer that there's no Krycek option. But CSM's is cool. I'd love to be called "confusingly evil" for a change instead of always being the empathetic one. (Honestly, I don't know how I ended up as Mulder on my first try. I didn't even choose most of the alien-based answers!)

Robert Redford: "Nothing in the Dark." Creeped me out the first time I saw it as a kid.

Gah. Two things I don't need to know - that you can't stop promoting yourself, and that you cook for "affluent foodies". I rarely root for anyone to lose, but I'll make an exception for people like that. She was the most annoying contestant in a long time.

Apparently I'm Mulder, which kinda surprises me.

Bewitched had at least four, as well: Elizabeth Montgomery (Samantha) was in "Two". Agnes Moorehead (Endora) was in "The Invaders". Dick York (Darren) was in "Penny for Your Thoughts". David White (Larry) was in "I Sing the Body Electric". (sorry - I'm not good at remembering what seasons the episodes are in.)

I guess I just see their relationship - or rather, their personalities and contributions to the relationship - differently than everyone else. (Entirely aside from the Doctor's behavior, that one guy sounds like a prick, Dizzy76.) I don't see Ten as an asshole. I see Owen as an asshole with Tosh, and I see Rose as an asshole with Mickey, but I've never seen Ten as being like them with either Jack or Martha. btw - I hope no one takes me sticking up for the Doctor as any kind of support for shitty behavior in real life. Regardless of how differently we see Jack and the Doctor sometimes, I would never stick up for anyone being intentionally hurtful of anyone else.

I never had the impression that Ten had any awareness that Jack might've loved him. I always figured Jack was in the same boat as Martha - in that place where, if the other party gives you the right signals, you'll let yourself fall, but you're not yet gone so far that you can't stop yourself. (Except in Jack's case, if the Doctor did reciprocate, that could potentially be one epic love.) I think Martha was more open than Jack, yet Ten seemed only barely aware of her potential feelings for him. I never had a problem seeing both Nine and Ten as a Doctor who cared very much for people but still maintained a specific kind of distance because he knew all of his relationships were doomed to be temporary. Ten, especially, seemed to carry the weight of so much sorrow on his shoulders. When I watch him, I see an underlying sadness, and I never really get the impression that he believes anyone - Jack included - could be better off with him in their lives than without. He's coming from such a different place psychologically. That's probably why I'm so forgiving of him regarding Jack. (It's probably also why I'm not really a fan of Eleven, because he doesn't fit what I'd previously considered the Doctor to be.) I should add the caveat that some of my impressions are likely due to the fact that I originally watched the episodes out of order, and moods from one episode probably color other ones differently that way. I'd settle for even one character who just simply doesn't like her. I would like her so much more if she wasn't inexplicably exempt from being disliked by at least one person without the reason being that the other person was bad for disliking her.

Ah, well then yes, that's probably the sort of thing that needs an apology.

But the Doctor didn't actually cause Jack to be immortal, did he? I thought Rose/Tardis accidentally caused that, and that the Doctor didn't even know about it until Jack tracked him down 150 years later? (It's possible I've got that wrong - I haven't seen the episode in a while.) I do agree that it would've been nice if the Doctor had apologized to Jack for inadvertently being the catalyst in what happened, but I never thought he was responsible for either Jack's condition or the fact that Jack was left behind, alive. I thought the Doctor truly believed Jack was dead at that point. I totally agree with this. Regardless of where the blame for it lies, Jack's story has a lot of tragic (in the classical sense) elements. Jack and the Doctor face a lot of the same issues. In both cases, they have to deal with the fact that their own lives put them in a position to live long after they've suffered through the deaths of those they love (and to repeatedly go through those losses with new people), and they both carry the weight of responsibility of being able to impact lives much more than ordinary people, and not always for the better. In the Doctor's case, his world is gone. In Jack's case, his personal world is gone (that being the life he originally thought to have for himself). Whatever they would have been under other circumstances, the Doctor's bursts of manic energy and Jack's devil-may-care attitude have become defense mechanisms to get them through the moments between experiencing the next painful situation and dealing with it. In some ways, Jack deals with his fate in a far more mature manner. The Doctor runs to escape from it. He travels around in time and space, and when his companions pry he tries not to talk about or think about the parts that hurt (though he does eventually open up sometimes). He suffers the loss of his companions in his personal life, but he usually knows they're out there somewhere. But Jack chooses to stay with the people he's made a commitment to, and so he faces the suffering that comes with his role, repeatedly. If anything, I feel like the Doctor's 900 years of being ultimately alone in his own tragedy and relying on his own ways to cope has kept him from recognizing a sort of kindred spirit in Jack, something that could benefit them both because they're NOT really alone in it unless they choose to be. Or unless one of them chooses to be, which in turn makes the choice for both of them. Which in this case leaves Jack more alone than he should have to be. (Which, maybe, is what some people have been saying all along and I'm just understanding now as I type it out?)

Ugh. I don't understand why she keeps showing up. She may be a talented cook, but her personality is too abrasive for this channel. You're right, they recycle a lot. Once Bob and Susie have your name, you're golden on both Food Network and the Cooking Channel. During the course of a typical season of Food Network Star, we get three judges who have shows on the network, at least a couple of episodes featuring guest judges who have shows on the network, and at least a couple of contestants who've already been on shows on the network. (Last season, Danushka, Chris, Lovely, Stacey and Viet had all been contestants on other shows first, and I may be missing one or two others from that list.) And last season they added that extra competition among the losers, so Robert Irvine got to join in the fun (because his four other Food Network shows apparently aren't enough). At least they're better than HGTV Design Star. Both shows follow roughly the same schedule each summer, but the winners of Design Star (David B. excluded) usually fall into an abyss somewhere. (That may actually be the prize.) Food Network Star at least seems to be worth winning.

I think I see what you mean. I'm used to thinking that when the Doctor hears the word "Torchwood" it just adds to his distrust of Jack, but yes, but taking into consideration the fact that the Doctor should be aware of how much Jack has been doing in those 150 years, it would make sense that the Doctor would give Jack some credit for it.

I tend to give Ten some leeway in the way he related to Jack, because if the thing you've trusted for 900 years to support you through the universe tries so hard to shake someone off that it flings you all to the end of the world, it's probably hard to override the instinct to distrust that someone. I never think of the two of them together without hearing, "You're an impossible thing, Jack," in my mind. I think it was rare for the Doctor to find someone he couldn't explain, and he didn't quite know what to do with him.

I <3 you for creating this thread, Luckylyn. I love good fanfic, but for some reason I've never gotten around to hunting down Torchwood fic, so I'm thrilled with the suggestions. I can contribute one suggestion: The only Torchwood fic I've read is Bluebird, by Basingstoke, which is a crossover with The Addams Family. (I came across this one because I consider the Addams Family to be the little black dress of crossover fiction. It goes with everything.) Anyway, I recommend it if you like very unusual premises - in this case, the idea that Ianto is an Addams. It's very good (as is all of Basingstoke's stuff), but the Addamses come across a bit darker than usual. And while it's not technically fanfic, some of the Torchwood novels have been very good. I like The Twilight Streets, by Gary Russell, very much. (The storyline involves Bilis and is rather creepy in a way that makes it a good Halloween season kind of read.)

It's Writing 101. Show, don't tell. There's no quicker way to make the audience hate a character than to keep telling us she's awesome and having the rest of the characters tell us she's awesome, but never let us decide for ourselves that she's awesome based on anything we're shown about her. I will never think Gwen is awesome just because Jack thinks so. And you know when I'll think it even LESS? When Jack thinks it even more, in response to the PTB not understanding why I'm not buying what they're selling. (I've been down this road with other shows. It never stops being annoying.) And it's not even that I hate Gwen, because I don't. But I hate the way I think I'm expected to feel about her just because someone amongst the PTB was thrilled to sign up the actress for the part.

I agree. What's sad is that on any other show - or even an early season of this show - these two would barely be Top 8 material. But they seem to be getting the most positive (or at least the least horrible) edit, and it looks like they're semi-competent in the kitchen. And I think we saw why Joy would have been better at being captain than Melanie a week or two ago. This episode made me think that Ramsey is just about done with Hell's Kitchen himself, and I wouldn't be surprised if this was the last season. They didn't even go to commercial for the "suspenseful" will-they-or-won't-they-beat-the-other-team moment on the pizza challenge. (Not that I mind the shake-up to the formula.) And one of the guest stars is a little boy who can lie on the floor and toss dough. Talented, yes, but what was the point? It really feels like Ramsey's heart isn't in it anymore. There wasn't even much of a build-up about the fact that his family was going to be subjected to some of the red team's food. And he doesn't seem to be going with the winning teams on their rewards as often (though I wouldn't want to go anywhere with this group, either). Even his yelling has lost its passion and just sounds more frustrated. Maybe if he actually chose viable candidates for one of his restaurants instead of a dozen deranged losers with anger management issues, it would help re-awaken his interest in the show. But I think he's just finished with this show and wants to spend more time on his other six hundred projects. I wonder how big the blue team would have let that fire get before putting it out if Ramsey hadn't interfered? Kashia cannot get off my TV fast enough. She's becoming my least favorite contestant ever on this show.

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk. Sri Lanka. So it looks like they're going to include a couple of disclaimers now with every episode this season, reminding us of the drama behind the scenes and the fact that one of the guys has been let go. The episode itself wasn't bad, compared to the S3 episodes. Leeches creep me out, though. I hope part 2 doesn't revisit that little issue.

Aw, I love Eaddy. I wish she was still on Teen Wolf. I connect a lot of what she said to the Teen Wolf fandom. A few months ago, one of the actors made an off-the-cuff remark concerning fans of an extremely popular 'ship over there, and it caused a kick-up for a while. The actor isn't one from the 'ship in question, and really wasn't even the one the question had been directed at, and I can excuse it as just one of those moments that gets away from a person, but it still left me feeling sour about the show for a few episodes because I do ship the pairing in question. The backpedaling over a character's possible bisexuality is more annoying and still aggravates me, as is that show creator's past history of teasing that the 'ship could become canon. I'd rather they ignore us than tease us about something they have no intention of doing. With Torchwood, I never had a chance to watch the show until Jack/Ianto was relatively established. I've since heard that Ianto wasn't meant to be a long-term character, let alone a significant love interest for Jack, but that the writers/creators learned of Ianto's and the pairing's popularity and decided to go with it. I'm glad they did, given the chemistry between the actors (and the lack of chemistry between Jack/Gwen IMO) and the way the characters on that show were written. Short answer to the first question - it depends. Short answer to the second - no. It's safer to keep fandom and canon separate, because if they attempt to alter canon and get it wrong, nobody's going to be happy. The only thing worse than an unpopular canon pairing would be an unpopular fandom-imposed pairing. In general, I don't think the writers/creators/actors should blindly follow the fans concerning a ship, but I do agree they should look into WHY the pairing is popular. (As Eaddy pointed out, there are actually some very well-written metas on the merits of various 'ships.) And then, if they feel so inclined and persuaded (and in the case of a slash pairing, the actors aren't too uptight to do justice to it), then I'm good with them absorbing the 'ship into canon, should the showrunner decide to do so. My fear is if they do it without an understanding of why the pairing is popular, because therein lies catastrophe. (I feel the same way about whether they should get rid of unpopular characters too early. I've seen cases where a show killed off a character because he was unpopular, and then when the show goes into reruns the same fans start commenting on how much they wish that character was still around. Fans can be fickle.) Sorry for rambling. I guess what I'm saying is that I think it would be great if a show (writers/actors/what-have-you) takes the time to understand what's going on when a large segment of their audience sees something different than they think they're showing us, and if they work with that. But I don't want them to alter canon to accommodate fandom just for the hell of it or for ratings. Frankly, I'd be happy if they would just listen more when their entire fandom is against a pairing that they try to force down our throats. (That's another reason I'm glad Torchwood went with Jack/Ianto instead of Jack/Gwen.)

I kinda like this show. I've caught it a number of times in re-runs. It's so earnest. It's obvious the producer was more interested in showing how things were actually done in an ER, or on a paramedic or fire call, than in using big tricks to create excitement.