gdp's Comments

Mark Reads : Mark Reads 'The Amber Spyglass': Chapter 1

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 15:55:52 +0000

replaced by a series of anarcho-syndicalist communes Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony!

Mark Reads : Mark Re-Reads 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone': Chapter 10

Sat, 21 May 2011 16:04:09 +0000

If both her parents are dentists, who's doing the home education? Usually home schooling is done by a stay-at-home parent. It seems like a nanny/tutor who would be qualified to provide a gifted kid like Hermione with the education she needed (that was up to her parents' standard) might be beyond the financial abilities of a pair of dentists. I mean, they're probably well off, but I'm not sure they're quite THAT well off.

Mark Reads : Mark Re-Reads 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone': Chapter 10

Sat, 21 May 2011 15:51:28 +0000

I know, right? It's all HP HP HP HP DAMIEN LEWIS HP. He could be a Weasley relation! Except it's totally weird to think of Soames Forsyte as a Weasley.

Mark Watches : Mark Watches 'Doctor Who': S05E01 - The Eleventh Hour

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 22:19:25 +0000

Moffat is saying ‘yes, this is the show you’ve all followed for the last 5 years, but remember all those good bits I put in? Expect a whole lot more!’ You may think this is a criticism, but far from it. It’s not derivative, it’s celebratory. A bright start to a brand new era of the show, both old and new. I really like this way of putting it and totally agree. It's regeneration -- I mean, that's the clear theme of the episode, not just the Doctor's regeneration or the TARDIS's or the show's but the regeneration of Amy's hopes and dreams. That beautiful music at the end, so full of wonder and beauty, Amy getting to go off with the madman in the box, who's been the focus of her desires for so long (as the slow pan over the drawings and dolls shows) -- it's new life, new hope, adventure and excitement. I don't think Amy needed the Doctor for adventure and excitement; she's dynamic enough to create her own. But she wanted that, in the deep primal way that children want magic and, yeah, fairy tales. And this episode is all about Santa giving her what she wanted. THIS SHOW, I WANT TO HUG IT.

Mark Reads : Mark Reads 'The Book Thief': Chapter 5

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:14:58 +0000

The most chilling part of this for me was this other man who was in the car. Who is he?

He remained with the girl while Frau Heinrich disappeared inside. He never spoke. Liesel assumed he was there to make sure she wouldn't run away or to force her inside if she gave them any trouble. Later, however, when the trouble did start, he simply sat there and watched. Perhaps he was only the last resort, the final solution.

TERRIFYING. Since I don't know who this guy is, I'm not sure what's going on, but thematically it seems to correspond with the earlier interjection:

A pair of train guards A pair of grave diggers When it came down to it, one of them called the shots. The other did what he was told. The question is, what if the other is a lot more than one?

Then you get the Final Solution.

Mark Watches : Mark Watches a Classic ‘Doctor Who’: Round 2

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 03:31:13 +0000

Last time Araniapriime suggested The Happiness Patrol (Seven and Ace), and it did really well in the poll, so I'm re-nominating it! Here's her original blurb:

Please watch "The Happiness Patrol" with the Seventh Doctor and Ace. Seven and Ace were my first exposure to Doctor Who, and they are BADASS AND AWESOME. Ace is a teenage girl in a leather jacket who carries explosives in her knapsack. Explosives that she MAKES HERSELF. In "The Happiness Patrol" the Doctor and Ace visit a planet where unhappiness is illegal. If you're ever found to be unhappy, you're sent to the Kandy Kitchen. SRSLY. The secret police wear miniskirts and pink wigs and bizarre outer space bondage gear. And the first thing they do is paint the TARDIS pink because it's a happier colour. That all happens in about the first five minutes. Then hijinx ensue.

DOESN'T THIS SOUND AMAZING?

Mark Reads : Mark Reads 'Mockingjay': Chapter 16

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 15:42:16 +0000

I’m on a frosting sailboat SHE'S ON A BOAT <img src="http://i55.tinypic.com/qq23ja.jpg">

Mark Watches : Mark Watches 'Doctor Who': The Voyage of the Damned

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:27:53 +0000

I think the fact that he doesn't go with Rick is the indicator that he's a twat. Exactly my point! :)

Mark Watches : Mark Watches 'Doctor Who': The Voyage of the Damned

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 21:40:26 +0000

Is there any name that says "douchebag" quite as clearly as "Rickston"? I CANNOT THINK OF ONE. (ETA: If anyone out there is named Rickston, I am sorry.) Other than that: the floating Doctor with Angels (coming just after Tinkerbell!Jesus!Doctor, too!) marked for me the place where RTD totally jumped the shark with the Doctor-as-Lonely-God theme. UGH. David Tennant is so amazing, but even he can't manage to make that bit be not embarrassingly cheesy.

Mark Watches : Mark Watches 'Doctor Who': S03E08 - Human Nature

Tue, 8 Feb 2011 21:38:25 +0000

I started this comment by quoting the bits I wanted to agree with, only to realize that I would need to copy THE WHOLE THING. The show's treatment of Martha is so problematic and frustrating and limiting, both of her and of the Doctor. That's the most frustrating part for me.

Mark Watches : Mark Watches 'Doctor Who': S03E08 - Human Nature

Tue, 8 Feb 2011 21:30:11 +0000

I was going to post this if no one else had. Thanks for doing it first!

Mark Watches : Mark Watches 'Doctor Who': S03E08 - Human Nature

Tue, 8 Feb 2011 21:13:43 +0000

I think there's pretty much always an inequality between him and his companion (this, btw, is one reason I don't care to ship the Doctor much). And this could have been the story to change that - he's human, he's had his knowledge and abilities removed, and yet, Martha's still subordinate and given much less power than he is. I really wish we could have screwed with the Doctor/companion relationship more. YES to all of this. I love Martha -- she always does her best with the crap end of the stick that she's given, but that doesn't change the fact that she is given some really, REALLY crappy stick-ends. (... That metaphor got away from me a bit.) She's fantastic, so smart and persistent and loyal, and she deserves better.

Mark Reads : Mark Reads 'Mockingjay': Chapter 7

Mon, 7 Feb 2011 16:00:19 +0000

I love that Mark Reads is a place where the relative narratorial reliability of various animal species can be discussed.

Mark Watches : Mark Watches 'Doctor Who': S03E02 - The Shakespeare Code

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 23:06:36 +0000

"she should have been more educated than she made herself out to be" But that's the writers' fail, not the character's.

Mark Reads : Mark Reads 'Catching Fire': Chapter 24

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 23:06:04 +0000

Haha, yes! Also I use "trippy" and "BANANAS" a lot. (B-a-n-a-n-a-s.)

Mark Reads : Mark Reads 'Catching Fire': Chapter 24

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 18:05:53 +0000

I've been struggling with this myself. Here are the words I've started using instead: bizarre strange weird odd zany wild And when I noticed that these were the words I really meant by "crazy"/"insane" I started understanding why someone living with mental illness might object to always being associated with those ideas. Or, more importantly, why having society at large think of mental illness in those ways can make life even more difficult for people who are mentally ill.

Mark Reads : Mark Watches

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 03:29:31 +0000

Not only that, but if I recall correctly it's all LOLZ and HILARIOUS and then suddenly SHIT GETS REAL in a really poignant way.

Mark Reads : Mark Watches

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 03:08:04 +0000

Why is everybody voting this down? Beloved is AMAZING and intense -- gorgeously written, and wonderful and heartbreaking and poignant. I love that it's the story of multiple generations of women and not only that, but it's all about the lingering impact of slavery on US society. It's the sort of book that sticks with you long after you read it.

Mark Watches : Mark Watches 'Doctor Who': S02E07 - The Idiot's Lantern

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 22:15:55 +0000

That second gif is AMAZING.

Mark Watches : Mark Watches 'Doctor Who': S02E07 - The Idiot's Lantern

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 21:40:19 +0000

If I recall correctly, in the Doctor Who Confidential for this episode, David Tennant gets completely obsessed by the plight of the poor actors playing the faceless people and keeps talking about how awful and surreal their experiences are. Good old DT! ETA: Also, I just now realized that the subtitle of the site is "Shit just got real." AHAHA SO AWESOME.