astrogirl is watching Breaking Bad, which led to us having fun with some Mr. White versus Mr. Gold comparisons. This, in turn, led to a creation of a poll, for anyone who watches both Breaking Bad and Once Upon A Time, as these two gentlemen turn out to have quite a lot in common. (Not least, of course, the "but I'm doing it all for my FAMILY!" self image whilst causing havoc.) However, be warned: SPOILERS, for all five seasons of Breaking Bad and all of Once Upon A Time broadcast so far (i.e. until and including In the name of the brother). To be extra careful, as I hate being spoiled myself, I shall hide the poll with the spoilery questions beneath a cut.

( Gold versus White: It's ON! )

As befits the day, this is a serious poll of seriousness. One of the many mysteries of the BBC's Merlin is this: considering Arthur (as far as we know) still has no idea Merlin is a powerful magician, and Merlin's non-magical fighting abilities are really not that great, why does he drag him along on various military enterprises, rescue operations and the like? (I'll handwave the hunting expeditions, since we can say Merlin's official job there is to carry the equipment.) Even more interestingly, why do the knights think he does it? In order to get other opinions on these very important questions, I offer a poll which the valiant Sir Leon, knight of Camelot, by last report not dead yet despite being a a red cloak wearer, wants you to answer.

I've started to rewatch Six Feet Under, and since monanotlisa still has my season 1, I started with season 2. This put me in an "awwww, show" kind of mood, reminded me how much I love these screwed-up fictional families... and also reminded me that Ruth and Claire really have horrible taste in boyfriends. So, for those few on my flst who've watched the glorious Six Feet Under, two polls:



I'm putting Ted in there just for completeness' sake, btw, not because I expect anyone to vote for him. (Republican or not, he really is a decent guy.)

Inspired by a discussion with wee_warrior. Something for Lost and Alias fans!

[Poll #1151286]

Firstly, I saw New Earth and shall review anon. Secondly, also in Dr. Who news, I bought a set called "Beginnings" and shall now be able to watch the very first Doctor in his early adventures. (Said set contains "An Unearthly Child", "Daleks", and "The Edge of Destruction".) Am greatly looking forward to this.

Thirdly, the results from yesterday's poll (so far):

1) Sisko and Lee Adama went mano a mano as men of principle caught up in a hostage situation; so far, it looks like the Sisko wins, but Lee is in really close pursuit. It occurs to me that what both eps (i.e. "Past Tense", a DS9 two parter, so really, three eps, and "Bastille Day" (BSG)) have in common, besides the Ron Moore connection, is that they combine the hostage drama with social issues. One of the many reasons why I love "Past Tense" is that this is one of the few Star Trek time travel episodes where Our Heroes go back in the past without allowing the show's audience to feel smug about themselves. (A la "no, we don't have that 30s depression and/or nazis/50s racism and cold war paranoia anymore".) The past Bashir and Sisko end up in is our future, but barely, and the mess the people are in in this future is the one we're currently producing. Bashir's "but how could people allow this to happen?" is an unconcealed "J'accuse" in this regard. Meanwhile, "Bastille Day" doesn't take the easy way out by letting Lee overpower Zarek and restore the status quo, i.e. the Astral Queen as a prison ship. Or let Zarek die, whether killed by Kara or someone else. No, it allows for the fact that Zarek, flawed and with mixed motives as he is, actually has a point with his demands, and Lee solves the situation by addressing the originally raised issue. It's still one of my favourite BSG episodes.

2) Buffy and Faith went up against the crew of Moya when it came to favourite body swaps, and for a time, the advantage switched back and forth, but then the Slayers left Crichton & Co. behind. I had a tough time making up my mind about this one myself, but ultimately I went with Who Are You because it uses the body swap concept to examine Faith's character in a way that the show hadn't done before and results in lasting changes, whereas Out of Their Minds is glorious fun but doesn't really change anything for any of the Moyans. Also? It made me look up the word "stevedore" in the dictionary.

3) The battle for best "Am I Crazy, Am I Dreamin'" is still raging, between John Crichton and Buffy Summers. Honestly, I love "Normal Again" (and think it's underestimated), but I thought John was a sure winner there because they don't come more crazy and more painful (right mixed up with the funny) than "Won't Get Fooled Again", plus, well, big arc revelation. The other big surprise is "Frame of Mind" being such a respectable third. Not that it doesn't deserve all the applause it gets, but I wasn't aware TNG episodes were still popular among yourselves, respected readers.

4) Canon AU: here BTVS and Marti Noxon score with "The Wish". No serious rivals (and I didn't even mention in my description it introduces Anya...). However, again TNG is doing respectably well with "Tapestry"; I strongly suspect the Jean-Luc Picard/Q interaction as the cause. *g* Also, I feel bad because londonkds reminded me that TNG has a canon AU episode which I really should have included in the poll, P/Q be dammed: Yesterday's Enterprise. Too right. Written a pre-DS9 era, it offered a dark "What If?" version of the Star Trek universe without any Mirror Universe campness (nothing against the Mirror Universe, I love it, but that's not a "what if?" where just one different twist of history makes all the difference for Our Heroes) and used the late Tasha Yar far better than the show had done when she was a regular.

5) "Take a look at yourself during a useful coma": Londo wins at self-examination in a comatose/delirious state, which doesn't surprise me, though I admit I'm biased. (What with "The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari" being one of my all time favourite Babylon 5 episodes.) What did surprise me was that Bashir and John Crichton are still duking it out for second place and no one loves The Professionals. (Me, I'd have given Life on Mars second place, but given how very new the show is, I'm not surprised it didn't get more.)

6) "Hero of the Hour": shame on me. karabair pointed out I forgot one of my all time favourite Alias episodes, "Tuesday" from season 4, wherein Marshall saves the day (but as opposed to all the other guys doesn't get laid, because he's a married man and his beloved is elsewhere, you know; but he does do a great Jack Bristow impersonation!). Anyway, here The Zeppo is the clear winner. I have issues with The Zeppo myself, but this ranking doesn't surprise me, as I knew it's a popular episode. Meanwhile, Vir comes in as a good second, leaving Vila and pre-Action!Wesley behind.

7) "My heart belongs to Daddy": the tearjerker about love for one's father and attempts to change timelines for him which wins is "The Visitor"; mind you, for a while it was back and forth between Rose Tyler and Jake Sisko. I wonder whether I should have asked after Sci Fi has broadcast "Father's Day"? Anyway, I loved that Dr. Who episode, but I voted for The Visitor myself. One of DS9's best. And now I'm annoyed with myself that I didn't request DS9/Dr. Who in the Multiverse ficathon, I tell you.

8) "Torture the Hero": wow. Another case where I thought Farscape would easily win, but no. As of now, Jean-Luc Picard has snatched the tortured hero award from John Crichton. Personally, I blame Patrick Stewart. (Again.) A word of explanations why I didn't nominate any of the numerous Jossverse occasions where heroes get tortured, including the leads: imo, episodes like In The Dark (Spike uses Angel as a pin cushion) or "War Stories" (Niska has a go at Mal and Wash) aren't really about torture. "War Stories" is primarily about the relationships between Wash, Zoe and Mal, focus on Wash and Zoe. "In the Dark" (aka the last time either show uses Spike in his original function as villain, and I think the writers knew it would be, because the episode has a "last hurrah for Evil!Spike" aura about itself) uses the backstory between Spike and Angel and is primarily about confronting Angel with a temptation for the easy way out. One of the reasons why my B5 example for a torture episode was "Intersections in Real Time" and not "Comes the Inquisitor" is that "Comes the Inquisitor" offers this brand of tv torture as well.

Now, new new Dr. Who (thank you, Davies, for that meta quote...).

( He's foxy! )