TheLocalWizard

That is magnificent!!

I HAVE A FORUM NICKNAME!!! (Can you tell I’m pleased about it?) If any of you lovely people do feel like following my Bookstagram where I’ll mainly be raving about my favourite books/authors, the link is now on my profile!

What a great idea for a thread! My big 'want to achieve' things for 2021 are: Write the book I've wanted to write for ten years Get my own place Make a success of my Bookstragram (I'm one of those people who'll pick up an idea and drop it two weeks later) Do more exercise Cook more often Redecorate Get comfortable in my own skin Spend as much time as possible with my friends And finally, attend a comic con!

WandaVision - First two episodes are great! Very, very different to what's come before, but enjoyably so! Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany give brilliant performances, and I loved it! Super stoked for the rest of the series now!

Finally got round to watching Knives Out at the weekend. Really enjoyed it! I wasn't sure about Daniel Craig at first, but he grew on me throughout the film. I thought the twist ending worked really well too. Overall, a really strong film! Bring on the sequel!

And I fourth it!

Have to agree! Felt very underwhelming, and found certain guest stars to be majorly underused! Rather excited by the little teaser at the end though!

Too late! I think I'll be trapped here forever now!

Finally got around to watching The Prom on Netflix, which is surprising given how much I adore the musical. There's a lot about it that is good (in particular the performance by Jo Ellen Pearlman as Emma, the lead), but the one glaring problem is James Corden as Barry, one of the Broadway actors who comes to Indiana to help Emma in her campaign. Not only is he wooden, his performance as a gay man left a really bad taste in my mouth. He plays up every stereotype you can think of, and then some. Considering the film was made by Ryan Murphy, who has been an advocate for LGBT+ roles being played by LGBT+ actors, it's plain odd that he'd cast a straight man in a gay role in his own film. And, it's not like there aren't LGBT+ actors who could've played Barry to perfection (Nathan Lane, Jesse Tyler Ferguson). Not terrible by any means, but let down by casting.

I've been seriously considering starting to collect Funkos over the last few months, and with the discovery that they have the license for The Office, my resolve has all but crumbled! Thinking of starting with this one: https://www.funko.com/shop/details/dwight-with-gelatin-stapler-the-office (I, of course, blame you all for soon-to-be-realised addiction to Funkos!)

That is AWESOME!!

Having recently finally watched Buffy from start to finish for the first time (I know, I know, I'm very late to the Buffy fandom!) it would be great if SM could get some of the main Scooby gang back together next year. I know that Alyson Hannigan, James Marsters and Anthony Head have done cons before, and it would be great if SM could also try and get Nicholas Brendon (who seems to be doing UK cons now!). And of course, Sarah Michelle Gellar would be great!

Hope everyone’s keeping safe. Been told my job that was meant to be starting in May will now be delayed by a month. Let’s keep checking with our friends and hoping this’ll all be over within a month or two.

While I echo the above sentiments of taking each Doctor on a story-to-story basis, if I absolutely had to choose, it would be as follows: Matt Smith David Tennant Tom Baker Peter Capaldi Jon Pertwee Peter Davison William Hartnell Patrick Troughton Sylvester McCoy Colin Baker Paul McGann Jodie Whittaker John Hurt Jo Martin

This is possibly my favourite guest encounter I've ever heard! Although I've never been a die-hard Walking Dead fan, I may have to meet Cassidy if she comes back! She sounds so nice!

Miriam would have been phenomenal! There have been rumours for a few years that Helen Mirren had been approached, but had always turned it down, although she was approached in 2009 for The Waters of Mars, back when the original plan had been to have a Russian scientist take the companion role, which eventually went to Lindsay Duncan. Dawn French had actually been considered twice, once when Colin Baker left (alongside Frances de la Tour and Joanna Lumley) and then again for the reboot. If we're looking for an older actress, the ones that come to mind for me are Emma Thompson, Tilda Swinton, or, my personal choice, Noma Dumezweni

I really, really wanted to like this episode. It had all the ingredients to make it a classic, The Doctor vs The Master! The Cyberman hunting down the companions! Gallifrey! Time Lords! A hitherto unknown plot twist a la The War Doctor! And then...we got that. A total disregard for canon and all that has come before, with so many plot holes created. Why did the Doctor need more regenerations in The Time of the Doctor? Why, if the Master says he remembers The Doctor choosing the name The Doctor before he ran away (which we knew was Hartnell's first incarnation) does pre-Hartnell Jo Martin call herself The Doctor? So many questions! The positives, although there were no many, were worth the rest of it. Sacha Dhawan (who, for anyone undecided about meeting him this summer, is the lovelies man around) makes a perfect Master. He's got the unpredictably of Missy, with the flair of Delgado and Simm. My personal head cannon is that he's pre-Missy, post-Saxon, and he strikes a perfect balance between the two of them. Bradley Walsh is, as ever, wonderful as Graham. He's proven he's more than capable of holding his own when it comes to drama, and if today's rumour proves true, he'll be sorely missed. Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill were good, but underused, as seems par for the course now. Jo Martin really was a wonder, and I hope we see her again, even if she didn't turn out to be number 14, which I had hoped. I do wonder how much longer Chibnall has left in charge, and indeed how much longer Whittaker will stay. If she decides to follow Tennant, Smith and Capaldi and do three series before moving on, can we start the petition now for Hayley Atwell or Evanna Lynch?

As it stands: Sacha Dhawan (Photo and Auto) Robbie Coltrane (Diamond, still can't get over the fact he's coming!) Colin Baker (Photo and Auto) Sylvester McCoy (Photo and Auto) Clark Gregg (Diamond) Nick Frost (Auto) Julian Glover (Auto) Natalia Tena (Auto)

Oh Showmasters, you beauties! I've always hoped we'd eventually get Robbie, and now you've got him! As someone who finds a lot of himself in Hagrid and has longed for a while to meet the man behind the half-giant, this announcement is truly brilliant!!

That is a lovely picture! You look so happy!

YES TO THIS!!!

I think he was in his own booth, away from the main signing area. Pretty sure I walked past him at one point

Without wanting to sound rude, perhaps a little compassion wouldn’t go amiss. Not every disability is visible, and not every medical condition confines sufferers to a wheelchair. Just because those of us who do not suffer cannot see what causes someone pain or the need for extra help does not mean it doesn’t exist.

Finn was an absolute delight, as he always is. Met him for an autograph, on a rather old photo of myself, him and Gethin Anthony, which prompted a brief discussion about how Loras and Renly were both very important characters for me personally. He listened, was attentive and seemed to really care. If (or when, since he’s becoming a proper regular!) he comes back, I urge anyone who hasn’t met him to amend that! He’s honestly one of the sweetest guests I’ve met!

All the crew I came into contact with this year were nothing short of wonderful and helpful. A special shoutout to Luke, who was running Tom Ellis’ auto queue and did a fantastic job!