Okay, I'm a little late actually writing this. I did actually start the post on Canada Day, because it was honestly pretty exciting. Blog posts do take a bit of mental bandwidth, tho, even when I'm trying to convince myself to dash them off like it's 2004 again. I'm giving myself a bit of grace, tho, since this is my 11th blog post this year, a number of posts this blog hasn't seen since 2013. And I've still got nearly half the year to go.
This is a bit weird for me. But I can't help but feel excited. I've gotten more and more into the contest since I started watching it when it was on OMNI in 2018 or whatever. When the budget item to "explore participation in Eurovision" was put forward last year, I honestly didn't expect it to go anywhere. Like maybe CBC would air it and send hosts, like Australian broadcaster SBS had been doing since the 80s. Do that for a few years, build the audience and then maybe see about getting special permission to join, like Australia did.
But nope! CBC full-on joined the EBU, giving it the right to participate (and also giving it access to the member news content, which is arguably more important). And then Mark Carney's all like "We're going to Bulgaria, baby!"
It's a weird world.
I am honestly looking forward to being in the fandom as a member of a participating nation. I put my name down at Canadian Fans of Eurovision and I'm enjoying the anticipatory fandom feelings. Of course, this isn't my first rodeo, but these things can be fun and I'll enjoy it while it lasts.
I'm also enjoying the speculation from Eurovision fans about who we might send, and discovering some cool new artists in the process. (I'm less enjoying Canadians' speculation, because people have no idea how this actually works, but I want to stay positive here). I'm filled with a mix of excitement and dread at what the CBC might come up with for a national final, because I think it'll also expose me to music I haven't been exposed to before and I think it'll be fun, even if we pick someone terrible and they bomb out in the semis.
Just finished playing Star Trek: Resurgence: a game you can't buy anymore. It only came out a few years ago. But you know... licensing.
I actually bought it pretty much as soon as it came out on Steam. But it's been sitting in the to-be-played pile. I started it, but it's a Telltale-style adventure game, and I find those kind of stressful. I haven't really had the bandwidth for stressful.
I still don't but I decided to pick it up again and decided I'd actually roleplay it out without worrying about the outcomes. This is the correct approach. Spoilers after the cut, but yeah, while there are different outcomes, there isn't a huge variance and if you stay true to the Star Trekness, you'll be fine.
Before the cut, tho, I just want to point out the biggest thing that drew me to this game: the hero ship, the USS Resolute NCC-92317, a refit Centaur class ship.
The Centaur class was a kitbash filling out the background of some shots in DS9, with an Excelsior saucer and an oversized USS Reliant roll-bar and weapon pod making up the nacelle pylons and secondary hull. For the game (after a "refit"), they gave it a proper secondary hull with a deflector, although keeping a bit of the look of the weapons pod for rear torpedo launchers. They put some real love into the design of this ridiculous thing. It's great.
They don't use that word. It's "out for tender." But nothing's in production and it's looking like we'll see a pretty clean break from the show as it has been the last 20ish years. And it's unlikely we'll see new Doctor Who before 2028.
I expressed my disappointment with the last couple seasons of the show when it ended a year ago. In the meantime, my disappointment mellowed into resignation, with a bit of trepidation about the upcoming Christmas special. Now that the Christmas special is no longer upcoming, I'm feeling a bit more sanguine.
When Doctor Who went "on hiatus" the first time, I was just getting into the show in a big way. I'd started collecting Doctor Who Magazine regularly. WXXI in Rochester was just starting to get new episodes in a reasonable timeframe. And then it was over. No-one was really saying anything. I remember DWM speculating about the possibility of another series, but nothing ever came.
Then we started getting the New Adventure novels, which I bought religiously. I clung to rumours of an American TV series. I started collecting the VHS tape releases. I read the comics. I became a more enthusiastic Doctor Who fan than when there was new Doctor Who to watch. Probably because there was no new Doctor Who to watch.
I would have loved a season 27, since it seemed like seasons 25 and 26 were really onto something cool, but what we got instead in the Wilderness Years ended up being probably way more inventive, and it was pretty instrumental to making the show that came back in 2005 as good as it was.
So it's sad news, but I can't help but hope that it paves the way for something better to come later. New people bringing fresh ideas to a show that's raised an entire new generation of fans over the last twenty years. I'm confident it'll be back and I'm hoping whoever ends up taking it on takes the time they need to make it as good a show as I know it can be.
