Buffy the Vampire Slayer S2.8 "The Dark Ages": Ethan's back & we learn more about Giles' past. Giles finds a way to spoil things with Jenny. Willow's solution is neat. A solid episode with some good lines for Cordelia.

A very nice person sent me a nice note about maybe writing something. So that brightened up my day. :)

I watched until the end of Dispatches from Elsewhere, thinking that perhaps it would get better. Despite the best efforts of Richard E Grant, it does not. Well, I've watched it so you don't have to. The conclusion is indulgent and trite. This is a show that desperately needed a plot.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer S2.7 "Lie To Me": An old friend of Buffy's arrives at school & he knows she's the Slayer! Xander hates Buffy finding a male friend who isn't him. However, Angel is also jealous. Maybe Ford isn't as great as he seems? And who are these people who think vampires are great?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer S2.6 "Halloween": Oz asks "Who is that girl?" again, while an old friend of Giles sets up a costume shop in Sunnydale. Except Ethan, the friend, calls Giles "Ripper"... Spike finally gets to enjoy Halloween, the demons' least favorite day of the year... Solid episode.

I found a cheap copy of the 1987 Judge Dredd annual and added it to my collection. I really enjoyed it - it's stuffed with great strips & a decent text story too. Probably my favourite read so far this year. #comics #2000AD

Here are some #DoctorWho illustrations I did a few months ago. I should do more.

Silly B&W illustration I did today. "Norman Spacewell".

Buffy the Vampire Slayer S2.5 "Reptile Boy": Buffy & Cordelia go to a frat party because they want to date older (& in Cordelia's case, richer) boys. This plan is about as sensible as you'd expect, especially since there's a giant snake god in the basement. Very funny training scene with Giles.

If you are looking for jobs in comics @popversesays.bsky.social has you covered! www.thepopverse.com/comics-jobs-...

#DoctorWho Frankenstein & the Patchwork Man by Jack Heath: Excellent book. Easily the best in this mini-range of literary tie-ins so far. Highly readable; a solid story in its own right, rather than existing solely to fit into the range. I hadn't heard of the author before - hope he writes more DW.

I finished Srranger Things 5 & while the final battle is good, I do wonder why the final creature looks the way it does. Early on in season 2, I think, we see the giant creature with smooth legs... they show art of it again too... but it's never seen again in the show. Hamilton has zero to do too.

Christmas reading materials have arrived. It's officially Xmas now. #comics #2000AD

Very much enjoyed O'Niell's art in Nemo: The Roses of Berlin. His nightmarish cityscapes are extraordinary. Moore's repeated references to Nemo's female descendants marrying as children is creepy, though. A literary reference, perhaps? Many such references went over my head, I felt them passing by.

Read the 1st of the #DoctorWho books I got for Xmas: Dracula! by Paul Magrs. It's a 1st Dr story set in Whitby, which I would now like to visit. The book is fine, as far as it goes, which isn't far. Personally, I think an extra twist or two might have elevated this into a rip-roaring read. Ah well.

Xmas jigsaw is finished. This one is a map of the southern US.

A massive Lego spaceship build. Impressive details. #lego #spaceship #hobby

I am caught up on Stranger Things 5, which seems to be mainly characters explaining their feelings to each other. In the climatic scene where a character comes out to all his family & friends, I waited in vain for someone (Dustin) to shout, "We KNOW ALREADY, dude. It WAS OBVIOUS, & we don't care!"

What we loved about the piece: "Jealous Is the Truth" by Mike Morgan paints a vivid picture of a world where stories take on a life of their own... much like ours... but with less pointy trees... Bio: @culttvmike.bsky.social was born in London, but not in

#DoctorWho The Savages: I really enjoyed the animation of this lost story. It's much easier to appreciate it this way than solely through the audio. Visually, they took many liberties to simplify the animation - depicting the alien world as a desert rather than as a quarry with plenty of plants.

Whenever I hear the word fjord, I think of Slartibartfast.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer S2.4 "Inca Mummy Girl": Willow realizes she is friend zoned, and Oz conveniently appears. The Inca mummy girl is fine but the protector is lame. Feels like a small plot point is missing: why did she need to die & why (apart from the murder) can't she come back?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer S2.3 "School Hard": Buffy must help at the Parent-Teachers night, but a new vampire is in town called Spike, & he attacks the school. A soft reboot & a distinct breath of fresh air. My daughter noted that they get rid of the Anointed One before he has a chance to do anything

Best decoration so far in Davenport. #StarTrek

#Babylon5 S2.13 "Hunter, Prey": The President's doctor is on the run. He has evidence that Clark wasn't sick when he was left behind by the Earthforce One ship, just hours before it blew up. In the B-plot, Sheridan takes an interest in Kosh & the Vorlon's secrets. The plots mesh nicely at the end.

#Babylon5 S2.12 "Acts of Sacrifice": G'Kar asks the Earth Alliance & the Minbari for military help in their war against the Centauri. What he gets... is far less than he'd hoped for. Meanwhile, Susan has a comedy sex dance with the alien of the week. Down Below is, apparently, evolution in action.

The Midnight Sky (film): George Clooney is an astronomer barely hanging on as the last human left alive (also terminally ill). He sets himself the task of contacting the last active spaceflight crew, to advise them to not return to Earth. About as much fun as you'd expect. Easy-to-guess twist.

Having watched #StarTrek Section 31 now, I can only agree with the general consensus that it is, in fact, not very good. There are many issues, but the writing is especially... um... not convincing. There's a level of superficiality to it that seems almost pathological. Maybe the worst Trek ever?

Back cover for Marvel's "DOCTOR WHO" issue 8 (1985), representing the story "Dreamers of Death". Art by Dave Gibbons. #DrWho #DoctorWho #1980s #scifiart #comicbookart #sciencefiction

Finished watching the 4 episodes of Stranger Things 5 released so far. There certainly is a lot of action. I do respect how they're calling back to things in earlier seasons. While I remain unimpressed by the central villain, I am interested enough to watch the rest when they come out.

Lots of my titles here, and lots of other great writers like @culttvmike.bsky.social Games, novels, collections, what more could you want? #scifi #rpg #ttrpg

I watched the JJ Abrams #StarTrek film again & I was (again) struck by something - the Star Trek films always end in a big shoot-em-up (with the exception of TMP), but that's not what Star Trek is about. I like the films, but maybe Star Trek is better on TV, where it can chill.

#StarTrek TNG "The Gift": Before DS9, we have a stable wormhole, & its owners want a bidding war. Troi falls in lust with one of the negotiators & learns he is part Betazoid. But is the wormhole a lemon? (Later, Data.) The romance parts are a bit creepy. Although the aerobics scene with Bev is funny

#StarTrek TNG "Who Watches the Watchers": The Federation's spying on "primitive" aliens again, with one of their duck blinds. Shockingly, it breaks & the aliens see them. A religion soon springs up, centered on Picard! Jean-Luc needs to convince them he's mortal, which is easy when they shoot him.

#StarTrek TOS "Spock's Brain": This episode gets all the hate, but honestly it's not noticeably different from most other Original Series stories. The main idea of a big machine being run by a brain is standard sci-fi fare & the main cast say repeatedly that they don't have the skill to reattach it.

Watched all of Love Death + Robots. An animated series that adapts many short stories. I recognized many of them. It does amp up the blood & nudity. Surprisingly large number of cat-related stories. After a while, there's a slight sense of sameness. But they're diverting enough.

When they grow up, they become Rover from The Prisoner.

My latest blog. This one covers my recent interview by Samak Press, and a heads up on the stories I have scheduled to come out in 2026 (and beyond). Hope you like it. :) perpetualstateofmildpanic.wordpress.com/2025/12/13/n... #Writing #ScienceFiction #SciFi #WritingCommunity

#Babylon5 S2.11 "All Alone in the Night": The Grey Council decides whether Delenn can stay & General Haig asks Sheridan to aid in the revolution. The war's sides are taking shape, in the B-plots. This episode's A-plot is a boring thing about aliens testing other species. Lennier gets to be loyal.

As we've been moving books to our new printer, we've realized that we've put out some remarkable books over the years, but one that we're especially proud of is Disharmony of the Spheres books2read.com/u/3L8Lxw A collection about people coping with mental illness. Description in alt text #scifi

As Picard and Dr. Crusher leave the cargo bay in “Symbiosis, you can see Denise Crosby waving goodbye. Filmed after “Skin of Evil”, but airing before, this was Crosby’s last filmed scene. I love that this was snuck in.

I watched various episodes of B&W #DoctorWho on live TV last night. The scene in The Aztecs where the Dr proposes to Cameca without realizing it is still superb to this day. Loved the acting at the start of The Edge of Destruction: they sell the disorientation so well in their performances.

Don't forget, we're reading for several of our publications. Check out the guidelines at www.nomadicdeliriumpress.com/guidelinespa... #scifi #WritingCommunity #Writing #amwriting

TF Publishing is now open for all general submissions. For the first time, art books & comics are also now being considered! Novels/novellas outside of the preferred 30k-120k range can also be queried. Check out our submission guidelines and criteria here: www.tfpublishing.com.au/submission-g...

Watched season 1 of Halo with my son. It's a fairly good story but I wish they had reached the halo. Sorry if that's a spoiler. And they kill the best character. Not sure why the aliens hate humans, either. Some of the aliens are similar bipeds.

#StarTrek TOS "The Doomsday Machine": Always a fun episode. The fight over Decker taking charge of the Enterprise is a good bit. Decker deciding to beam his crew down to a planet when he knows there's a planet killer around is silly, to say the least. No wonder he feels guilty.

#StarTrek TOS "The Changeling": A classic story & the forerunner of TMP's plot. Nomad is a good villain. The opening scene has Spock say that the shields are taking the impacts of 90 photon torpedoes & that the ship's shields can take 4 such impacts (that's 360 torpedoes' worth). That's... a lot.

Elliott Erwitt, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. New York City, USA. 1988.

I watched the 1st, free episode of Pluribus. I winced early on, thinking it was exactly the same as a story I'm working on, but - phew - it's OK, they went in another direction. I liked the twist at the end, but I very much worry whether there is enough substance here to sustain an entire season.

#BuffytheVampireSlayer S2.2 "Some Assembly Required": It's Buffy adapts Frankenstein this ep, so of course it ends in fire. No villagers & pitchforks, though. Cordelia gets lots to do, & Giles & Jenny are now dating. It's fine, although the "female in peril" trope is feeling overused.