Whoniversaries 24 April

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i) births and deaths

24 April 2008: death of Tristram Cary, who wrote incidental music for six First Doctor stories and two later ones. Here's his "The Ambush" for the story we now call The Daleks.

ii) broadcast anniversaries

24 April 1965: broadcast of "The Space Museum", first episode of the story we now call The Space Museum. The Tardis jumps a time-track and the crew find themselves in a museum where they cannot interact with the locals and they themselves appear on display. (A really good one, this.)

24 April 1971: broadcast of third episode of Colony in Space. The Doctor and the colonists take control of the IMC ship, but Jo is in the hands of the primitives.

24 April 2010: broadcast of The Time Of Angels. The Doctor, Amy, and River Song find themselves trapped on the Byzantium with armed Clerics and the Weeping Angels.

24 April 2020: webcast of two stories by Paul Cornell following on from Human Nature / The Family of Blood: “Shadow of a Doubt”, read by Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield, and “The Shadow in the Mirror”, read by Lor Wilson as Lucy Cartwright.

iii) date specified in canon

24 April 2010: marriage of Bernice Summerfield and Jason Kane, as described in Paul Cornell's 1996 novel Happy Endings. (I don't think it's a huge spoiler to reveal that things didn't really work out between them.)

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February 2011 books

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This is the latest post in a series I started in late 2019, anticipating the twentieth anniversary of my bookblogging which will fall in 2023. Every six-ish days, I've been revisiting a month from my recent past, noting work and family developments as well as the books I read in that month. I've found it a pleasantly cathartic process, especially in recent circumstances. If you want to look back at previous entries, they are all tagged under bookblog nostalgia.

I don't seem to have travelled that month, and no particular family or office news. The big developments were all international – the Egyptian revolution and crisis in Libya, South Sudan's independence referendum results, and the epochal Irish election which saw Fianna Fáil cascade down to third place from the leading position they had had at every election since 1932. In Doctor Who news, Nicholas "Brigadier" Courtney died; here is Tom Baker's tribute.

I read 23 books that month.

Non-fiction 5 (YTD 10)
Peeling the Onion, by Günter Grass
How to Suppress Women's Writing, by Joanna Russ
Life of Frederick Douglass
Elizabeth I, by Christopher Haigh
Chicks Dig Time Lords, edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Tara O'Shea

Fiction (non-sf) 6 (YTD 7)
Red Plenty, by Francis Spufford
Resurrection Men, by Ian Rankin
A Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Sign of Four, by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle

SF (non-Who) 7 (YTD 10)
The Mahābhārata
Irish Tales of Terror, ed. Peter Haining
Lightborn, by Tricia Sullivan
Zoo City, by Lauren Beukes
The Prodigal Troll, by Charles Coleman Finlay
The Book of Lost Tales, Vol II, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, by J.K. Rowling

Doctor Who (fiction) 4 (YTD 10)
The Jade Pyramid, by Martin Day
The Hounds of Artemis, by James Goss
Short Trips, edited by Stephen Cole
Birthright, by Nigel Robinson

Comics 1 (YTD 2)
Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour, by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Page count ~6,500 (YTD ~10,900)
5/23 (YTD 7/39) by women (Russ, Thomas/O'Shea, Sullivan, Beukes, Rowling)
3/23 (YTD 4/39) by PoC (Douglass, authors of Mahābhārata, O'Malley)

Best books of the month: How to Suppress Women's Writing, which you can get here, and The Life of Frederick Douglass, which you can get here. Worst: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, by J.K. Rowling, 100 pages of guff about monsters looked at from the perspective of the Ministry of Magic bureaucrats with hand-written annotations supposedly by Harry and Ron; you can get it here.


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Friday reading

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Current
The Complete Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant
The Serpent Sea, by Martha Wells
The Consuming Fire, by John Scalzi
Legendborn, by Tracy Deonn

Last books finished
The Empress of Salt and Fortune, by Nghi Vo
Muse vol 1: Celia, by Terry Dodson & Denis-Pierre Filippi
Muse vol 2: Coraline, by Terry Dodson & Denis-Pierre Filippi
Le dernier Atlas, tome 1, by Fabien Vehlmann, Gwen De Bonneval and Fred Blanchard
Feeders & Eaters & other stories, by Neil Gaiman, art by Mark Buckingham
Sculpture Stories, by Neil Gaiman with Lisa Snellings
The Gameshouse, by Claire North

Next books
In the Days of the Comet, by H. G. Wells
Cloud on Silver by John Christopher

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Whoniversaries 23 April

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i) births and deaths

23 April 1975: death of William Hartnell, who played the First Doctor from 1963 to 1966, and returned for The Three Doctors in 1972-73.

23 April 2013: death of Norman Jones, who played Khrisong in The Abominable Snowmen (Second Doctor, 1967), Major Baker in Doctor Who and the Silurians (Third Doctor, 1970) and Hieronymous in The Masque of Mandragora (Fourth Doctor, 1976).

23 April 2019: death of Edward Kelsey, who played the slave buyer in the story we now call The Romans (First Doctor, 1965), Resno in The Power of the Daleks (Second Doctor, 1966) and Edu in The Creature from the Pit (Fourth Doctor, 1979).

ii) broadcast anniversaries

23 April 1966: broadcast of "The Final Test", fourth episode of the story we now call The Celestial Toymaker. Dodo and Steven defeat Cyril the schoolboy at Tardis Hopscotch, and the Doctor solves the Trilogic Game; they escape.

23 April 2005: broadcast of World War Three. The Doctor, Rose and Mickey defeat the Slitheen by hacking into UNIT's computers.

23 April 2011: broadcast of The Impossible Astronaut, starting Series 6 of New Who. Amy, Rory, River Song and the Doctor receive a mysterious summons that takes them on an adventure to 21st century Utah and Florida in 1969. Along the way they meet Richard Nixon, president of the United States of America, and former FBI agent Canton Everett Delaware III.

Also 23 April 2011: broadcast of documentary My Sarah Jane: A Tribute to Elisabeth Sladen.

23 April 2016: broadcast of Friend from the Future, introducing Bill Potts.

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Vector 293: Chinese SF

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Second paragraph of third article (“龙马精神 Dragon Horse Vitality Spirit”, by Yen Ooi):

Genres are in general difficult to define, but CSF is especially complicated. Both the terms Chinese and science fiction defy any clear definition, yet are used so commonly that every user has their own pre-assumed definition. One popular assumption in the West is that CSF should always be read in terms of political dissent or complicity with state power. As much as that might be true for some, it is an unhelpful generalisation. After all, we do not assume that British SF is only about Brexit, or American SF only about Trump. In one sense, all storytelling is inherently political, and within Anglophone SF especially, the racist and queerphobic attack on representational diversity is often disguised as a demand to “remove the politics” from our stories. However, the necessarily political nature of storytelling is complicated in the case of the Anglophone reception of CSF. The insistence of many Western readers on interpreting CSF exclusively in relation to government censorship can itself have a paradoxically censoring effect. Some CSF authors have even resisted writing stories set in China, or allowing the translation of their work into English, for fear that readers will ignore its actual aesthetic and intellectual qualities, while using it as material for simplistic speculation: Whose side are you really on? To quote Ken Liu — for what is a publication on CSF without mentioning the writer who, it feels like, has single-handedly brought CSF to Anglo-American readers? —

Like writers everywhere, today’s Chinese writers are concerned with humanism; with globalization; with technological advancement; with development and environmental preservation; with history, rights, freedom, and justice; with family and love; with the beauty of expressing sentiment through words; with language play; with the grandeur of science; with the thrill of discovery; with the ultimate meaning of life.
— Ken Liu, Invisible Planets, 2016.

The BSFA has done us all a huge service with a special issue of Vector devoted to Chinese SF, 80 pages of really interesting pieces about the genre in the language with most native speakers in the world. I must say there isn’t a dud piece here – I thought I was going to bounce off Angela Chan’s interview with artist Beatrice Glow, but in fact it developed into a really interesting narrative about colonialism and representation. I won’t attempt to summarise what I learned from the magazine, but I went straight out and bought An Excess Male, by Maggie Shen King, and Waste Tide, by Chen Qiufan, to add to my TBR list. I assume that the interested non-BSFA member can make arrangements to get a paper copy from the source, or wait a few months until it appears on the back issues page.

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My tweets

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  • Wed, 12:40: Hugely childish. @DanTehanWannon was senior adviser to Aus trade minister Vaile 2002-06, was then director of trade policy and international affairs for Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry 2006-07. @TrussLiz became UK’s trade minister in Jul 2019. Er, that’s it. https://t.co/Vb2frrvman
  • Wed, 12:56: RT @UKandEU: What is in the Northern Ireland Protocol the Johnson Government negotiated? Find out in this explainer by @JS_McStravick @ha…
  • Wed, 13:51: Can’t they both lose? https://t.co/1jbK4mk0e0
  • Wed, 16:05: Walter Mondale’s paper for Jimmy Carter on the role of the Vice-President https://t.co/ehK9nyFU6m A nice clear read, based on consultations with Rockefeller and Humphrey – though apparently not Agnew or Nixon!
  • Wed, 16:40: RT @francescabinda: Fascinating. Obviously, the current @VP has a different take on section IV! https://t.co/GnaQcCCYbY
  • Wed, 16:47: RT @jburnmurdoch: Greater availability of Covid-19 data in the western world has at times given the impression the US, UK and Europe have b…
  • Wed, 17:11: Dialogue for mutual recognition will succeed when the EU joins the US in its Kosovo approach https://t.co/zywpItzF6D Alush Gashi writes.
  • Wed, 17:14: …and right on cue as we consider Australia’s trade diplomacy, I get an invitation from one of the big German thinktanks for an event next week on EU-Australia trade relations, why they are good and getting better. Australia trades 3x more with EU than with UK. And comfy chair.
  • Wed, 17:23: RT @Glasgowin2024: Glasgow in 2024 only becomes a seated convention if we win the bid vote at Chicon8 in September 2022. That vote is now…
  • Wed, 18:47: 400 days of plague https://t.co/pp5W5kj3bp

  • Wed, 19:38: RT @JimMFelton: Laurence Fox is currently polling equal to Peter Gammons – a man with gammon in his actual name – and Count Binface, a man…
  • Wed, 20:48: Lactarius hibbardiae, a milkcap mushroom found in the northeast USA, named after my great-great-aunt Ann Hibbard (1858-1940). https://t.co/mwZF7FYW3p
  • Thu, 01:58: RT @japansociety: Japan Society extends its thoughts and prayers to Vice President Walter F. Mondale’s family on his recent passing. A form…
  • Thu, 09:30: Whoniversaries 22 April https://t.co/zvcX2yIiHu
  • Thu, 10:45: RT @davidallengreen: ‘An uncomfortable chair’ Why the international trade secretary wrongly believes trade deals are quick and easy, and…
  • Thu, 11:45: RT @APCOBXLInsider: To celebrate Earth Day, we’ll be highlighting three upcoming EU policies that aim to protect our planet, health, and e…
  • Thu, 11:59: RT @PatrikGayer: Lopuksi asiat sitten ratkeavat vähän @alexstubb ‘n EU:n “ongelmaratkaisukaavan” mukaisesti. Kaikki saa jotain mutta kukaan…

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Whoniversaries 22 April

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i) births and deaths

22 April 1942: birth of Denis Lill, who played Dr. Fendleman in Image of the Fendahl (Fourth Doctor, 1977) and Sir George Hutchinson in The Awakening (Fifth Doctor, 1984).

22 April 1984: birth of Michelle Ryan, who played Christina de Souza in Planet of the Dead (Tenth Doctor, 2009).

22 April 1989: death of Kenny McBain, who directed The Horns of Nimon (Fourth Doctor, 1979-80).

ii) broadcast anniversaries

22 April 1967: broadcast of third episode of The Faceless Ones. The Doctor convinces the Commandant to let him investigate the mysterious disappearances.

22 April 1972: broadcast of third episode of The Mutants. Jo, the Doctor, Cotton and Stubbs are trapped in the caves by the Marshall, with gas closing in.

22 April 2006: broadcast of Tooth and Claw. The Doctor and Rose save Queen Victoria from werewolves; she founds the Torchwood Institute.

(Odd coincidence that Pauline Collins features in two episodes shown exactly 39 years apart.)

22 April 2017: broadcast of Smile. The Doctor takes Bill to see one of Earth's first space colonies, where the inhabitants have supposedly cracked the secret of perpetual happiness. However, they soon discover that the cause of this "happiness" has a very deadly punishment for not following along.

iii) date specified in-universe:

22 April 2011: setting of much of Eleventh Doctor stories The Impossible Astronaut and The Wedding of River Song.

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400 days of plague

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Well, the Belgian numbers are a little better than ten days ago, but only a little. All of them ticked down today, both day-on-day and week-on-week, apart from – crucially – new infections, which are a hair up from the previous seven days. There were over 100,000 vaccinations in Belgium on 7 and 8 April, though only one day since has topped 80,000. I am still waiting for my (supposedly prioritised) turn.

I am a little down partly because of the Grim Reaper's recent recruits – our dear friend Liz, of course, but also Shirley Williams, who I had actually met a couple of times, Jonathan Fryer, another Liberal friend, and Walter Mondale and Jim Steinman, who I did not know but who helped make the world a slightly better place. Also partly because at work, two much valued colleagues announced that they are leaving – they had both been very helpful to me when I began and throughout my time in my current job, and both very popular with the rest of the team, so they will be missed; but sometimes it's right to move on, especially if a good opportunity comes up.

The Hugo final ballot was launched, with inevitable glitches and Sturm und Drang, much discussed elsewhere.

However, as well as my excursion with U to Bozar at the weekend, we had visitors from Brussels for the first time in ages, and had a long walk in the woods followed by a chat in the garden.

Also on the positive side, two glorious moments in the history of space travel. The BBC tracked down the little girl who was the first to greet Yuri Gagarin when he landed from the first spaceflight. She said to her grandmother, "He speaks Russian, so he's probably human!"

And the Ingenuity helicopter made the first powered flight on another world (we must not forget the June 1985 Venus balloons):

Belgium will gradually open up again over the next few weeks. Here's hoping that the vaccination campaign can keep the virus in check.

PS – back to last year: two of my videos about our village from mid-April 2020. Sacred spaces and sabotage.

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My tweets

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  • Wed, 10:45: RT @tconnellyRTE: NEW: A majority of people in the South do not believe there will be a United Ireland inside the EU within the next ten ye…
  • Wed, 11:11: RT @BorderKent: Ms Truss appears to have broken Kentish diplomatic rule (of Kent) #4 Don’t insult overseas trade teams that are – more ex…

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Whoniversaries 21 April

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i) births and deaths

21 April 1927: birth of Gerald Flood, who played Kamelion in 1983 and 1984, and also King John in The King's Demons (Fifth Doctor, 1983)

21 April 1935: birth of Anthony Read, script editor of Doctor Who from Underworld (Fourth Doctor, 1978) to The Armageddon Factor (Fourth Doctor, 1979), co-writer of The Invasion of Time (Fourth Doctor, 1978) and writer of The Horns of Nimon (Fourth Doctor, 1979-80).

21 April 1973: birth of Mark Dexter, who played Charlotte's Dad in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (Tenth Doctor, 2008) and Charles Babbage in Spyfall (Thirteenth Doctor, 2020).

21 April 1983: birth of Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who played Martha Jones' sister Tish in 2006.

21 April 2002: death of Terry Walsh, stuntman and actor in many Old Who stories.

ii) broadcast anniversaries

21 April 1973: broadcast of third episode of Planet of the Daleks. The Doctor and the Thals escape from the Dalek base.

21 April 1996: last ever appearance on TV of Jon Pertwee, playing the Third Doctor on Cilla Black's Surprise, Surprise!

21 April 2005: David Tennant films his half of the Ninth/Tenth Doctor regeneration scene.

21 April 2007: broadcast of Daleks in Manhattan. The Doctor and Martha land in New York in 1930 where the Daleks are attempting to merge with humans.

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Doctor Who: Adventures in Lockdown, ed. Steve Cole

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Second paragraph of third story (“The Terror Of The Umpty Ums", by Steven Moffat):

“Did you hear me?” emitted the Human from its flapped aperture. “Did you understand? Do you understand what I’m saying?” The encoded sound stream was accompanied by a fresh flow of smells also emanating from the aperture. Karpagnon’s sensory filter began processing the new odours, while his tactical monitor noted that they were unlikely to be directly significant to the Human’s communication. The light spray of moisture was similarly dismissed. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning. Dr. Johnson and Dr. Ahmed will be here too. Do you remember them?”

A collection of short stories, most of which were published on the BBC website or in various other places last year during what we must now call the first lockdown. The high point is Neil Gaiman's “One Virtue, and a Thousand Crimes”, featuring the Corsair (see also), and there are a couple of wee gems by Paul Cornell, but I must say that I enjoyed them all, especially the feeling that the collection was not so very deliberately crafted – sometimes these anthologies try a bit too hard for coherence. Diehard fans will enjoy some of the obscure continuity references, but I think even casual fans will just enjoy the stories as such. You can get it here.

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Whoniversaries 20 April

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i) births and deaths

20 April 1951: birth of Louise Jameson, who played the Fourth Doctor companion Leela from 1977 to 1978. She is 70! It doesn’t seem possible!

ii) broadcast and publication anniversaries

20 April 1968: broadcast of sixth episode of Fury from the Deep

20 April 1972: publication of The Making of Doctor Who by Malcolm Hulke and Terrance Dicks, the first book about the show.

20 April 1974: broadcast of fifth episode of The Monster of Peladon. Eckersley's treachery is revealed.

20 April 2007: broadcast of third episode of The Infinite Quest.

20 April 2013: broadcast of Hide. Clara and the Doctor arrive at the haunted Caliburn House, set alone on a desolate moor. Within its walls, a ghost-hunting professor and a gifted empathic psychic are searching for the Witch of the Well. Her apparition appears throughout the history of the building, but is she really a ghost? And what is chasing her?