Although it was great fun watching William Hartnell in "Doctor Who" on Sunday, I was flipping over to "Downton Abbey" quite a bit. Although I already knew the plotlines, I found a hilarious summary online and had to share this bit (no spoilers, really):

"So, while Cousin Isabel is home eating Ethel’s oven gristle and Hot Pockets, the rest of the Crawleys are at Downtown Arby’s celebrating the impending birth of Sybil and Branson’s wee babe with Doctor Lord Flipcup Tapwater. Old Man Clarkson is there as well at the insistence of Lady Elizabeth McGovern, though Dr. Lord Tapwater and Earl Grantham were in agreement that the aged quack ought to be kept out of the birthatorium."

http://www.queerty.com/the-downton-abbey-read-cap-death-comes-to-downton-20130128

Interesting weekend:

Friday - Had some trouble getting home in the snow (should have left work earlier but didn't realize it had come down as hard as it did so quickly), but was amused watching others who clearly had no idea how to drive in bad weather (although being stuck at the bottom of the hill watching them keep sliding back down, the amusement didn't last for long). Got an unexpected phone call later Friday night from a visiting friend (WB), but the snow had stopped and the roads had been plowed so I braved going out to get together for a bit.

Saturday - Was unexpectedly and annoyingly blown off by a friend to attend an AFW dinner together, but I decided to deal with it another day and went by myself and had a splendid time. Always a fun bunch of guys, plus 3 new people showed up, so it was fun meeting and chatting with them, and the food was excellent (Busara Thai in Tysons Corner, if you're looking for a decent restaurant on the west side of the DC loop). Afterwards some folks wanted to go to the Korean spa, but others wanted to go to Secrets, so I got talked into going (especially since two of the other guys going had never been before, so I knew it would be amusing to watch them). Naked men, dicks swinging, blah blah blah, but the music was good and the crowd was nice, so I enjoyed it for a while.

Sunday - Met two co-workers for lunch to catch up on all the latest gossip on campus. Ran some errands afterwards, but made it home in time to watch Obama and Clinton's "60 Minutes" interview, then "Downton Abbey," then some old school "Doctor Who" (Hartnell in "The Aztecs" - man she was a cranky bitch!).

Monday - We'd decided to have a little birthday breakfast at work as we had a few January birthdays, so I was going to get up earlier than usual, but then I got a phone call (rather late in the morning - 7:00 a.m., when we usually get a call no later than 6:00 a.m.) saying we were opening at 9:20 due to the sleet/rain mix we got, so I slept in a bit longer before getting up, getting ready, and stopping at Panera's for bagels. Still had a nice breakfast, though - enjoying a French toast bagel right now, actually. :)

So a pretty full weekend. I find that by going out and doing something Friday night it really makes the weekend feel like a weekend, but this weekend I had more than usual on my plate. This week is supposed to be quiet, though, and no plans for next weekend so far. :)

Gracious, I'd forgotten what a beautiful film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was...

OK, so he still needs some time, and he's trying just a smidge too hard, but he'll get there just like every actor before him. I just hope and pray he doesn't become the "SQUEE FANGIRL!!!!!!!" Doctor. Ugh. And so far I like Amy, too, though I hope they push her more towards the Donna/Sarah Jane side of companionship rather than the Rose side. BLEH HATE BLEH. The ten Doctors montage was lovely, too. Oh, and he needs to NOT use "Geronimo" as some kind of catchphrase. No no no no no. Stop that RIGHT NOW.

Otherwise, yeah, liked it well enough. :)

Wow, really? Changing up the titles and music? Are we going to start doing that again with each new Doctor? Bleh. It's not even like there's been some new leap of graphics technology or change in music styles since 2005 to necessitate an update. Reminds me of the switches from Davison to C. Baker to McCoy - USELESS AND ANNOYING.

Otherwise, Smith's doing an ok job so far, but he's got a while before he settles into the role.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving at our friends Greg & John's house, with their soon to be adopted daughter Jocelyn and their foster son Moe. T'was quite nice to catch up with them, and hopefully we'll see them again around Christmas.

I finished watching The Prisoner last night, and ultimately found it lacking. Ian McKellan was, of course, virtually untouchable, but the rest was just bleh. They tried so earnestly to achieve mood that they completely forewent plot. They sacrificed characters we could relate to so they could get the proper balance of spooky and esoteric. I never watched the original series save but for a few episodes, but I can only gather that it was a far superior product, and hopefully managed, like Dark Shadows or similar, to draw its mood and theme and plot out over a prolonged period of time while successfully keeping the viewer engaged and entertained, without giving too much away. Sadly, I pretty much had this one pegged well before the ending. And, seriously, what was up with the dialogue? I'm all for subtlety, misdirection and thoughtful, witty interplay, but a lot of this just didn't make any sense, even if you could follow the convoluted trail of breadcrumbs they were trying (unsuccessfully) to leave for you. All in all, pretty much crap, except for McKellan. Disappointing.

Q's last night of work tonight, and then we're heading up to Mom's for the rest of the weekend. Should be fun.