Let’s talk about television.

I get some of my inspiration from television, and I’ll bet most writers do too. We are products of our environment, and television is all around us. I decided to talk about what I’ve been watching this fall. Here they are, in no particular order:

Dr. Who. I may be the only person in the world who isn’t onboard with Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor. The problem isn’t his, it’s one of poor production. BBC is running this with the theatrical music overpowering the dialog. I really don’t know if Capaldi is good or not. I’ve only heard about a third of what he said. I’ll keep watching, because it’s Dr. Who, but I’m losing interest.

Sherlock. I’m so excited that BBC America decided to run this show over here. I got to see some episodes that ran on PBS a few years ago. So far, I’ve seen these episodes, but it was a few years ago. I like the fact that each episode is about two hours long. They have more time to mesmerize me. Really excited to see what happens after R. Falls.

Selfie. Keeping with a loose BBC connection, I only watched this because of Amy Pond… I mean Karen Gillan. They teamed her up with John Cho. It’s a modern rebelling of Pygmalion/My Fair Lady. Gillan is hilarious as a self obsessed office worker. I never thought it had much staying power, but I’m sad it was cancelled already. I recorded it and watched it when it suit my schedule. It was up against a highly anticipated show called…

The Flash. I really want to like this show. I’m being patient, because Flash is one of my favorite characters. Right now they’re stuck in bad guy of the week syndrome. My biggest issue is that I think it was miscast. I prefer the old Flash with John Wesley Ship. I’m not offended by the racial diversity the network is obviously attempting, but… When I read the comics, Iris was a white girl. This seems to be a comic trend. I heard Marvel is doing something similar with Ben Grimm. I’m being patient with this show.

S.H.I.E.L.D. This show is much better than last year. They’ve allowed a bit of character growth that most new programs overlook. The episode when Coulson and May infiltrated the party was awesome. May was so out of character working under cover it was funny. It looks like Ward is going to be forgiven, and I think that’s a mistake. I also like the changes between Fitz & Simmons. They were a bit cloying in season one.

Sleepy Hollow. I really like this show. The cast carries the load here. The relationship between Crane and Mills is wonderful. The little bits of Crane being out of touch with modern times are hilarious. It’s a nice spice in an otherwise grim show. I’m not impressed that the horseman is one of the four horsemen, Death. I also don’t like the idea they gave him an invisible head and dialog. Sometimes the monster should remain a monster. His scare factor went from boiling to simmer. Someone once said The Force was so much cooler before we learned about metachlorians. This is how I feel about the horseman. I was a bit disappointed in the 30 pieces of silver episode. Everyone goes there. Crane and Mills carry the show.

The Walking Dead. This show was always good, and it still is. The world is genuinely dangerous, and cast members die off with regularity. There is no safety in knowing a character will be back next week. It’s gritty, scary, and dangerous and I like it.

Last Man Standing. It’s Tim Allen, do I need to say any more? The guy just cracks me up. They poke fun at very current events and do it from a standpoint of common people. The supporting cast is good, and they’ve been allowed to grow a bit too.

Note: There are no reality shows on my list. I was tired of them years ago, and quit watching them all together.

So what’s on your list? What have you given up on? What did you pick up? Is anyone still watching Bones or Once Upon a Time?

Editing day

I got up early and headed for the cabin. It was foggy, and Pogonip covered the trees. I had to call Lisa* to guide my gyro copper toward the runway. She was able to talk to it and take the controls from her bedroom.

I booted everything up, and opened The Cock of the South. I had a notepad from my conversation with Cobby, the dwarf. He’s the story’s main character.

Doubt** made little karuk noises whenever I needed more emotion or scenic detail. I referred to my notes to get the ones Cobby described. When I got to one spot, Doubt flew over to my desk and paced back and forth. I don’t think he was ever happy with the passage.

The small trick with Doubt is, that’s all he is. He can help me make passages better, or make me doubt myself in a vicious cycle where nothing is ever good enough. Eventually, I have to decide. That’s the big trick, I’m the one in charge.

I got slightly more than half way through before I had to stop. I’ll take a little break, and hit it again in the afternoon. Then I’ll probably spend my evening reading Harry Dresden. I don’t think Sherlock comes on until tomorrow. Then I’ll have to decide between Sherlock, Sleepy Hollow, and Klondike. I can record one, watch one, and probably miss one. Cable stuff usually runs more than once though. I might be able to set a midnight recording.

I went upstairs to check on Lisa. She was standing in the center of the room with three holographic monitors open, one for radar, one for topography, and one for Boise. She wore her tight denim pedal pushers with a blouse that was covered in cherries. Her high heels were a regular thing, and today was no exception.

She glared at her monitors and said, “Going home is going to be dicey. I can help you take off, and point you in the right direction. It’s sunny up high. Dropping into Boise will be the hardest part. You’ll be out of range for me, and there’s another inversion.” She turned toward me and said, “You might be better off staying here and trying it tomorrow night.”

“I’ll think about it,” I said. “I’m going to stretch out on the couch for a bit. Then have a snack and edit some more.” I tugged on my beard, “Is the forecast any better tomorrow?”

“A bit. If Boise gets a little wind, you ought to be okay.”

“I’m off Monday. Let’s stick with my plan and see what it looks like this evening.”

“Okay. You really ought to write yourself a bed for the cabin. Then you can spend long weekends here. I can bring up the Will ‘O the Wisp in the morning so you can write about it.”

“You’re a good assistant, Lisa. I’ll take it all under advisement.”

*Lisa is from one of my early novels. She’s my assistant now, and a robot.
**Doubt is a raven. At least he looks like a raven.