Audience of Strangers

Via a tweet I came across from @Paul_Cornell, update on Nine Worlds plans for a major con in London, to be held 9th-11th August, at the Renaissance and Radisson Edwardian hotels near Heathrow. It's the sort of thing I'd be interested in, in principle (they've got speakers like rozk and Laurie Penny, as well as Cornell himself) and though it's a bit pricey and isn't in the most attractive location, yes, you could say I'm the target market.

They've got a track on Doctor Who and Torchwood, which is what Cornell tweeted the link to,* but it wasn't the best introduction to the programme

Here's the line-up of named guests (presumably Guests of Honour, though they aren't named like that)

Kai Owen is a Welsh actor best known for playing Rhys Williams in Torchwood, initially in a supporting role and coming into a main part for seasons 3 and 4. He has also appeared in Being Human and Waterloo Road, and played the lead role in BBC series Rocket Man.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai_Owen


Gary Russell is a Doctor Who writer. He edited Doctor Who Magazine in the 90s, has written several DW novels and co-wrote the making-of book for the 1996 DW movie. As part of the team creating the new series, he wrote Doctor Who: The Inside Story in 2006, and The Doctor Who Encyclopedia in 2007. He also directed "The Infinite Quest", an animated series tying in the the 2007 Doctor Who series, and wrote Art of The Lord Of The Rings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Russell


James Goss is a producer and writer for Doctor Who and Torchwood spin-off media. With the return of Doctor Who in 2005, he began putting together material with the aim to construct a whole world beyond the show for fans to explore, including games, videos and fictional websites. He has produced Doctor Who animations and special features for the DVDs, as well as writing two Torchwood radio plays and four Torchwood novels.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Goss_(producer)


James Moran is a television writer known for his work on Doctor Who and Torchwood, including the episodes "The Fires of Pompeii", "Sleeper", and "Day Three". His feature "Cockneys vs. Zombies" was released in 2012, and he has also written for ITV's Primeval and BBC1's Spooks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Moran_(writer)


Joseph Lidster is a television writer best known for his work on Torchwood and the Sarah Jane Adventures. He started writing tie-in material for the new Doctor Who series in 2005, before joining the Torchwood team to write for the second season in 2008. He has also written content for sites tying in to the BBC's new Sherlock series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lidster


James Swallow is an award-winning author and multi-media scriptwriter. His novels Fear To Tread and Nemesis were New York Times Bestsellers in 2012 and 2010. He has worked on Blake's 7, Stargate, and Doctor Who, and is the only British writer to have worked on Star Trek. He was nominated for a 2012 BAFTA for his work on the video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Swallow


Ben Aaronovitch is the author of the best selling Rivers of London series of novels. He is also the author of several Doctor Who novels and TV episodes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Aaronovitch


All excellent people, some of whom I'd be delighted to hear, but noticed anything yet?

And then there's the track itself:

Saturday

Writing Doctor Who and Torchwood
Kicking off our GeekFest weekend in style, Messrs Lidster, Moran, Goss and Russell talk us through the joys and challenges of writing for Doctor Who (past and present), Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures - for the show, novels and audiobooks.
With Joseph Lidster, James Moran, James Goss and Gary Russell

Doctor Who: The Future (... Spoilers!)
So as it stands we are facing not one but two new Doctors... or is John Hurt really The Valeyard? In fact is Matt Smith even the Eleventh Doctor at all? It's an interesting time for the future of DW and there's a lot at stake! What does the future hold for our cosmic wizard? Warning - there may be spoilers!
With David A. McIntee and Iona Sharma

Interview with Kai Owen - Torchwood's Rhys Williams
Kai Owen achieved global fame with his portrayal of Rhys Williams in Torchwood in 2006 with the character elevated to star billing for the third series in 2009 reflecting his growing role. More recently Owen has appeared in the BBC's Being Human and the Syndicate. There'll be time for autographs afterwards.
Interviewed by Joseph Lidster

Discussing Religion and Doctor Who: Faith, Science Fiction and Academic Research (hosted by the Academia track)
Religion and religious themes have consistently been a subject of interest over Doctor Who's long history. Recently, the show has attracted everything from Church of England conferences dedicated to its use in preaching, to guest appearances by Richard Dawkins. But what is the value of using a science fiction show such as Doctor Who to examine religion? Is there not a danger of turning science fiction, often seen as an avowedly secularist genre, into a tool for evangelism? Using Doctor Who as a case study, we consider that science fiction can serve as a valuable tool for scholars of religion, in examining shifting historical understandings of faith, the reception of central religious concepts, and even the idea of belief itself.
With Dr Andrew Crome of Manchester University

Doctor Who: RTD vs Moffatt
Some people still miss Russell T Davies as showrunner on Doctor Who. Others think the show's never been better since Steven Moffat took over. Who's right? There's only one way to find out... Debate!
With Paul Condon, Matt Nixon and David A. McIntee

Big Finish: The Audio Series
Big Finish's Doctor Who audio plays have enjoyed a huge success over the past 15 years, showcasing the talents of a fantastic range of new writers. We discuss the strenghts and limitations of the audio format, and talk about their other ranges of drama - including Blake's 7, Dark Shadows, Sapphire and Steel.
With Gary Russell, James Goss, Joseph Lidster, Abigail Brady and Una McCormack
Sunday

Chicks Unravel Time
Discussions and readings from the book of the same name in which our favourite series is reviewed and analysed by a host of award-winning female writers, media professionals and scientists
With Iona Sharma, Una McCormack and Jenni Hughes

Doctor Who: The Ones You Love To Hate
Nothing's more fun than a really hissable villain, and Doctor Who's had more than its fair share of dastardly dudes and dames over the years. What makes a perfect villain? Is it the megalomaniac schemes? A catchphrase? Or just a natty line in sinister clothes? We talk all about the nastiest people in history.
With Jonathan L Howard, Adam Christopher, David A. McIntee and Ben Aaranovitch

Is Doctor Who "Thunderingly Racist"?
A recent academic study of DW makes a bold claim that the show is "thunderingly racist". Is this true? No non-white actors have ever played the Doctor, and the absence of non-white people from the line-up of companions throughout the whole of the Classic Series is notable.
With Adam Christopher, Iona Sharma, Abigail Brady and Una McCormack

Torchwood: Doctor Who Goes Sexy
Fans of Torchwood are every bit as dedicated as fans of its parent show Doctor Who (have you seen the Ianto Shrine in Cardiff Bay?). We talk about why the series was such a hit, which season of the show worked best, whose death hurt the most, and what the future might hold for Captain Jack and Gwen.
With Gary Russell, Joseph Lidster, James Goss and Kai Owen

The Sarah Jane Adventures: Spinoff Success
For some fans of the Classic Series of Who, the launch of The Sarah Jane Adventures brought a nostalgic glow. We talk about the success of this brilliant CBBC series and how the team behind the show are continuing to make children's sci-fi with Wizards Vs Aliens.
With Paul Condon, Gary Russell, Joseph Lidster and Matt Nixon

Doctor Who: My Best Friend
From Susan all the way through to Clara Oswald, the Doctor's companion has been a fixture of the series for as long as it's been on the air. But who's been the greatest of them all? Jamie? Jo? Tegan? Rose? Donna? Or do you fly the flag for Dodo or Lady Christina?
With Jonathan L Howard, Matt Nixon and David A. McIntee

Noticed anything else, yet? The two "diversity" panels - "Chicks Unravel Time" and "Is Doctor Who 'Thunderingly Racist'?" have in the first case an all-woman panel, and in the second case a majority woman panel. Everything else, either no women at all, or the odd one or two being endlessly recycled.

But the final insult comes on the Home page, with the Geek Feminism track. Click on that link. Take in that photo. Because nothing, but nothing, says "feminist" like a plastic Wonder Woman figure, maintaining her plastic dignity in the way a real woman should.

So disappointing, after Eastercon. Panel Parity, so 2012?





*Incidentally, have the people who claim they would have difficulty explaining a gender-flipped Doctor to their children and who use the term "suspension of disbelief" ever attempted to explain the denouement of "The Satan Pit/The Impossible Planet" to anyone who's ever heard the terms "space" and "vacuum"? Thought not.

After yesterday, I am feeling distinctly perkier today - the clouds seem to have eased a little, both literally and metaphorically.

Incidentally, I saw Joss Whedon's Much Ado... on Monday with kalypso at the Cornerhouse (I cannot get my head around Mark Kermode's insistence that like MCC and Albany, it does not take the definite article, though I agree this is true of the visible branding on the place and its literature.)

Greatly enjoyed, and definitely agree with Philip French's review in the Guardian that everyone's terrible decision-making, hair-trigger tempers and impulsiveness is made much more explicable where, as here, the entire cast is permanently semi-sloshed (were one to ask one of the characters what they wanted for breakfast in this production, the answer would appear to be "a tequila slammer")

The standout performance is Nathan Fillion as Dogberry, someone I'd previously thought of as "one of those ghastly unfunny Shakespearean comic characters" but Beatrice and Benedick are very good, too; there's a scene where Beatrice is trying to shake off a guy who insists on pawing her bare arm and shoulder at a party which is brilliantly observed, and helps point out that for all her verbal freedom she's stuck in a world where women have no real power and they're constantly walking a tightrope between seen as loose or uptight.

In which regard, I don't have the problems other reviewers seem to have about the modern-dress setting and the actions of - in particular - Beatrice and Margaret compared to the "Hero has to be a virgin" McGuffin; Claudio (in particular) is established as an unbalanced obsessive with a nasty streak at an early stage, in his sudden conclusion that the Duke was after Hero on his own behalf (again, a brilliant scene).

In fact, it occurred to me (and I don't know if anyone's actually directed it this way; there were, I'd say, veiled hints in this production) that everyone's motivations would be a great deal more explicable if we assume that Don Pedro and Claudio have just started an affair, Don Pedro is a politician with a very conservative, family-values power-base, and Hero serves as a convenient beard for both of them, with her dowry (which was definitely emphasised in this production. Twice) coming in handy as a campaign war-chest.

It would explain Don John, if he's hoping to use the attack on the Hero marriage as a way of provoking something even juicier to come out.

Well, it's one of those days, really.

Below the cut I'll be complaining about Stuart Hall's sentence of 15 months for a series of child sexual assaults spreading over the period 1967-1986. One of the principal things I'll be complaining about is people mansplaining the reasons for the low sentence and directing everyone who objects to the judge's sentencing remarks with the assumption that reading the sentencing remarks is the sort of thing that only Proper Serious (Male) Lawyers would dream of doing before going on the record to say "the 15-month term "surely cannot be strong enough for the seriousness and circumstances of the crime"*

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I'm not saying the judge didn't have a difficult job, and I'm sure he did weigh everything very carefully. But that's no reason for assuming people looking at the situation and going, "That's wrong on every sense of the word wrong" must necessarily be doing so from a position of unbalanced ignorance either. And I can't help noting there's been a very strong gender split on the comments. For which I blame Hall's role as a sports commentator, to be honest.

Unlike the other area of annoyance today, Nigella Lawson and the assault****on her by her husband, where there seems to have been equal opportunity idiocy, with Nick Griffen and Cristina Odone more-or-less tied in first place.

ARGGH!

EVERYONE is wrong on the Internet!





*Comment from Silly Gurly (Female) Shadow Attorney-General Emily Thornberry and hence to be Diskarded Uterly
** When I did criminal law, one of the points I noted with a combination of bemusement and horror was that the maximum sentence for sexual assault on a female was 2 years and on a male 10 years.
*** The event which, according to Tom Lehrer, inspired him to give up satire
****Anyone wishing to get smart-alecky, that's what Saatchi accepted a caution for. ETA Really, if one has just been caught in a act of domestic violence - and yes, other idiot on the internet, just because it happens outside an expensive Mayfair restaurant doesn't stop it being "domestic" - comments like this don't make you sound less control-freaky: "The paparazzi were congregated outside our house after the story broke yesterday morning, so I told Nigella to take the kids off till the dust settled."

Happy birthday twistedchick

Heaven knows I've seen some utter rubbish about the "passive voice" or, to use the usual (meaningless) phrase "passive writing" in my time, but I'd never seen it blamed for perpetrating rape culture before. The usually reliable Judith Flanders, on Twitter, linked to this part of ill-thought-out idiocy by one Jonathan J Lindsell, which manages to combine all of the following, as the author was trying to play legionseagle pet peeve bingo:

- handwavy attempt to link use of part of speech of which he disapproves (to be fair to Lindsell, at least he can identify the passive voice, unlike most of the people identified in the 63-and-counting posts on the topic at Languagelog) to behaviour of which most right-thinking people disapprove, and so score guilt by association;

- Vaguely wet-liberal handwringing about rape and sexual assault being Bad Things unaccompanied by any practical suggestions as to what to do about them;

- that general blokey air of those who identify themselves as Allies (with the capital) of feminism being too important to leave to women;

- the classic online Social Justice (TM) tactic of "first to call the other party to an argument a racist wins";

and, finally, and completely damning him in my eyes:

- a proposal which would actually make convicting rapists far harder than it currently is, masquerading as an appeal for greater sensitivity to the feelings of those who have been raped - much the same problem as I highlighted the other day in relation to the complaints of Cambridge students that aspiring lawyers shouldn't be expected to study the Sexual Offence Act 2003 because it required them to contemplate acts that were "horrific" and "beyond acceptable".

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Came across this genderflipped Avengers/Doctor Who poster (Avengers IKEA not the other lot, for British readers of a certain age) poster and was struck dumb by it, especially by Donthor, Temp of the Gods!

Those morons at SWFA might want to consider it next time they want to show a Warrior Woman on the cover of their trade magazine looking sexy but tough. Trust me, it'll avoid a lot of trouble.