I just finished watching the second chapter of this year’s Doctor Who Christmas Special. Splitting the special to two nights was something new for the show and truly deserving given the epic nature of the story. I waited to talk about it until after I’d seen the whole thing and could consider the story in its entirety.  It was, in a word, spectacular, the *like category doesn’t really cut it with this one.

The episode was in many ways not at all what I expected, but I certainly have no way of describing what I was expecting. It’s better that way, because what I would have come up with wouldn’t have been nearly as good. Five years of episodes that have aired since the series returned in 2005 culminate in this tragic tale that pushes The Doctor to the breaking point. All the seeds that were planted along the way pay off as the show’s executive producer makes his exit with this story. The Master’s stolen ring, his widowed wife Lucy Saxon, the secrets of The Time War, the Ood’s warning, and the prophecy of The Doctor’s demise all play out beautifully and stand as a testament to brilliant planning since Doctor Who’s return to television.

It’s more than that though. More than ever before, these episodes harken back the classic Doctor Who series. The Time Lords, The Master’s entire history, and his relationship with The Doctor are all critical elements to this story. In some ways, we learn more about their history than ever before. The final confrontation between the principal characters is brilliant and should provide a real treat for long-time fans.  Knowing where these characters come form and what they’ve been through adds so much to the story, but it’s so well put together you won’t miss a beat if you’ve only seen the “new” Who.

It’s no secret that this story marks the end of an era for the show, but knowing that makes it no easier to watch David Tennant’s exit as The Doctor.  These things are never easy, however, this one is particularly heart wrenching.  Having waited through the show’s absence from 1996 to 2005, it was amazing to see it return with Christopher Eccelston in the lead role.  His departure after one season was saddening, but David Tennant’s entry solidified the show’s return for me.  He has been simply amazing and despite being the tenth actor to play the role, it’s difficult to imagine anyone else as The Doctor.  His run ends with an incredible homage to his adventures before we meet Matt Smith in the episode’s final moments.  Episodes with the new Doctor should begin airing this Spring.

Doctor Who – The End of Time Part One replays Saturday January 2nd at 6:45PM with Part Two following at 8:30PM on BBC America. In fact, a marathon of nearly the entire series is running right now through the airing of the two part epic tomorrow night. The DVR will allow me to sleep tonight.

I feel stupid writing this post to introduce people to a tv show that has been on the air for more than fifteen years (according to Wikipedia), but no one I’ve mentioned it to has known what I was talking about. Earlier this week I woke up to discover a marathon of a show called “Later… with Jools Holland” on a cable station I never even knew I had called Ovation TV. It’s channel 155 on my Comcast Digital Cable. Not that that information helps you necessarily. Halfway through the first episode of this program I became unbelievably jealous of British people who have been able to watch this show for almost two decades on BBC 2.

If you’ve never seen it, the stage of the show is a giant circle with about five bands set up around it and a camera in the middle. The studio audience is seated in between and behind the bands. The show opens with all of the bands playing a short jam together while the camera spins around showing off the set up and who will be performing that evening. From there, Jools Holland introduces the first band who typically performs their latest song.

Here’s a clip to show you what I’m trying to describe:

After the first band finishes, the next band immediately starts. For the next hour it’s just one song after another by all of the bands. Once in awhile Jools will interview one of the headliners, but that’s the only break from the music.

And the bands that I caught in the last few days are amazing and varied from headliners like Pearl Jam, Coldplay, Metallica, Snow Patrol and Tom Jones to bands I love like The Who and The Hold Steady. There were world music acts from Africa and folk artists and everyone is talented… oh plus former Catwoman Eartha Kitt and Jamie Foxx. Yeah it’s crazy and I loved it.

Here’s an awesome clip:

In case you didn’t know it, Jools Holland spent the eighties in the band Squeeze, which you know for the song “Tempted.”

Considering all of the stupid shows the U.S. has imported from Britain and remade (Coupling, any Simon Cowell production, the Office), it kills me that there doesn’t seem to be a market here for an American version of this show. It just shows how dead rock is in the United States right now.

Support Ovation TV and this show.

There are YouTube clips for basically every good successful band ever playing this show. Check them out if you get bored.

The final piece to Marvel’s 2010 Spider-Man teaser image can be seen on their main site, but for some reason it’s not part of the article yet.  Looks like the magically undone wedding will be the focus of this year’s Spider-Man stories.

Additional images for this puzzle teaser were released each day this week at Marvel.com.  A rough assembly looks something like this:

What does 2010 have in store for Spider-Man?  The Gauntlet, a Spider team-up, the Juggernaut, romance with Carly Cooper, and an explanation of what happened on the day of Peter and Mary Jane’s wedding.  Good luck, Spidey.

Several months ago, I embarked on a journey into sound.  In an attempt to clear the clutter from my life I came across a treasure trove of old Philadelphia punk rock cassettes. So I armed myself with the technology I needed to bring these things back to life, namely an old cassette deck, an RCA to 1/8″ adapter and Apple’s GarageBand software.  I have to say, while time consuming, this process has been incredibly fulfilling.  I can once again enjoy the sounds of Space Christ, Chinny Chin Chin, Old Feziwig, and even a few rare gems from Ubisunt.  Yes, the quality is terrible when compared to other items in my iTunes library, but the tape hiss and imperfections are part of the music at this point and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I’m also converting some old VHS tapes to digital video just to complete the cycle.  Look out Saturday Night’s Main Event 11/28/87, you’re next!

My car has been approaching a milestone for the past few weeks and last night we “turned over” the odometer at 100,00 miles.  Of course, my digital odometer has seven digits so I really just added a glowing “1” to the left side, but I found it pretty momentous.

This is the first new car I’ve ever purchased, and I’ve driven nearly every one of those miles.  I don’t know if I’ll ever drive it across the country like I’ve wanted to, but it’s seen no less than 15 U.S. states over the years.  It’s slid across highways during blizzards, leaving me to spend the night is strange cities like Pompton Plains, New Jersey. It’s made appearances in parades.  It’s also been driven into a few times doing varying degrees of damage to both the fenders and myself, but it’s still running strong.  After watching the odometer for weeks, Angie and I took a few photos to celebrate our old friend.