Number Thirteen gets her togs

I have to say, this isn't at all what I was expecting. There were two options for the creative team, one of which was to just put her in a traditionally Doctorish gent's outfit to hammer home that it was the same character, and the other was to give her a more feminine costume that no previous Doctor would have worn. I'm glad they've gone with the latter, but even so, I kind of expected something that was more like one of the old Doctor's costumes, in a feminine cut.

This, though, I like very much. It's feminine, quirky, and fairly practical. There's a certain Doctorishness to it, but quite unlike any of the outfits before, which is just how it should be. There are bits of old Doctor influence in there, though. Most obviously, the braces call back to Matt Smith, but moreso to Patrick Troughton. (I was a bit intrigued when someone said the new Doctor would be wearing suspenders, but that was just a bit of Americanism/Britishism confusion.) The long coat calls back to David Tennant. The stripes across the top might be a nod to Tom Baker's scarf, and the boots could recall Smith or Eccleston. I'm not sure what's going on with the top of that coat - is that a hood swung back? - but it does have a somewhat Time Lordly quality to it.

Some people don't like it, which is fair enough, although attacking it by saying it's too silly or doesn't have enough gravitas seems to ignore how ridiculous some of the earlier Doctor's outfits were. I've seen it said that it looks like something out of Rainbow, which isn't totally unfair, but compared to the sixth Doctor's costume, it's very sedate. Someone else has said it makes her look like a circus performer, and a friend pointed out that Sylvester McCoy not only acted like a circus performer in some of his episodes, he basically was one before he started acting. Again, fair enough if that's not something you like in your Doctors, but it's hardly without precedent.

Various commentators have been pointing out similarities with other characters' costumes. Mork is the most common comparison:

but I'm seeing more than a hint of Wesley Crusher:

Either way, there's a definite eighties style to the costume, which actually fits quite well with the out-of-time vibe we get from various Doctors. Capaldi wore a costume which hinted at styles from both the 50s and 70s, while Hartnell's turn-of-the-century style was similarly 50-60 years out of date. Something that has a suggestion of 1987 is forty years out, the same sort of dislocation. In any case, I like it. It's different but still says "Doctor" to me.

Spandex Girls

The debate surrounding the portrayal of female characters in comics has now broadened to encompass the movies. Den of Geek have posted a piece calling for more female superheroes who are less obviously attractive and designed to fit male expectations, one that has been met with a fair amount of feedback from both sides of the equation. Frankly, I can see their point, but I think they're missing it somewhat as well, for a number of reasons.

Firstly, yes, woman are used as titillation material in these films. It's not just comicbook movies; I've already complained about the portrayal of Dr. Carol Marcus in Star Trek Into Darkness. However, I don't think that there's anything wrong with a little titillation (or bumillation), as long as that isn't all there is to a character or that there's at least some context. In my view, one of the best ways to approach it is to have the male characters be subjected to it as well. Indeed, Marvel does this plenty. Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and Peter Quill all get fan-service shots of their topless chests. Chris Pratt's impressive torso was even a major selling point of Guardians' trailer, just as much as the sultry shots of Zoe Saldana as Gamora. Gamora is used as an obvious example in Den of Geek's article, and there are problems with her portrayal. As I said in my review, the supposedly badass alien is mostly a damsel in distress until she faces down Nebula, upon which we get to aesthetically pleasing females battling it out. On the other hand, I honestly think there's less ogling done of Gamora than of Star Lord. It could be argues that perving on the men is just as making it a broader problem, but personally I feel it just evens things up. By all means, give us eye candy, so long as we get decent characters with it.

It's certainly true that we get one specific kind of female hero in these films. Zoe Saldana, Chloe Bennett, Coby Smulders, Karen Gillan - all very slim, lithe women who look good in tight leather. Only Scarlet Johanssen mixes it up by adding some real curves into there, and she's hardly large. Is it an unrealistic image for women to aspire to? Yes, it is, but no more so than Dave Bautista's rippling muscles or RDJ's extreme handsomeness are for men. I'm all for more variety in form in both comics and movies, but come on, look at film and TV (especially in America). Everyone is gorgeous. I was just watching an episode of Arrow. Even the IT girl is a model. Pretty people sell tickets and DVDs.

There's definitely a difference in the portrayal of men and women in comics and film. Male heroes are expected to be physically impressive, muscular and strong. Female heroes are expected to be beautiful and sensual first, strong second. And yes, there's a lot of work to be done there. A film can still be made and do well with an older or less obviously attractive male lead, while it's rare to see anything headlined by an older woman. This is something that needs to change. Still, expecting the pretty people to go away is unfeasible. And really, using She-Hulk as an example... are they serious? Jennifer Walters is a fine example of female comics characterisation, but when she's She-Hulk she's green tits and ass. A She-Hulk movie could be great, but does anyone really think we won't get someone drop-dead gorgeous in the role?

Some movie-makers are worse culprits than others. I'm sure that if Michael Bay could somehow hire Megan Fox's arse without having to pay for the rest of her, he would do so. But so long as we can have a decent actor doing a good job of portraying a well-written character, then I will happily accept the bonus of having a gorgeous person in the role. It's just a problem when those first few criteria aren't met.

Marvel aren't perfect. Those posters for The Winter Soldier that morphed Black Widow into bizarre proportions were horrible (Chris Evans didn't avoid the photoshopping either, but it wasn't so obvious). We're supposed to root for Chris Pratt's womanising star traveller, who forgets he has his latest shag in his spaceship. On the other hand, Gamora did resist the cliche of being won over by his charms, so that's something. (Let's see what happens when she meets Tony Stark though.) We really need a movie centred on a female hero, be it She-Hulk, Black Widow or Captain Marvel. However, appearance wise, the Marvel movies are still ahead of the comics. If Gamora had dressed like her comics counterpart, she'd have looked like this:

The Doctor's New Clothes

So, there we have it - the first look at the twelfth Doctor's costume. What do we all think? I rather like it, but then, it's not entirely unlike the sort of thing I might wear (then again, neither were the tweeds or the pinstripes). I love the frock coat, deep blue with a lovely red lining. Looks like it could do with a tie, though. I'm guessing we'll see some variation over the episodes, of course. It's got a nice feel of the earliest Doctor outfits, but with a modern cut and style. A nice update for our new Doctor. And I love the Pertwee pose.

All Hallows etc.

I had a good Hallowe'en this year. I was lucky enough to get a weekend of work - a rare treat, since I work for William Hill and the retail and leisure industries involve weekend work. I generally have to work either a Saturday or a Sunday, and they usually end up as full days. Staffing it otherwise is possible, but difficult, since splitting shifts usually means people have to work for some time on both days. So we tend to do it this way. However, I'm owed quite a lot of hours, and managed to get both Saturday and Sunday off. So I went to a Hallowe'en party - my first in years. The last one I went to was at a friend's uni digs, so we're talking a while back. I went as Zaphod Beeblebrox, a costume which caused even more problems than my choice this year.

Yep, I went as the Phantom of the Opera (or "Opera Guy," as he was dubbed at the party). This image is from the early part of the evening. You'll notice that while I lack a cape, I do have a mask firmly attached to my face. This didn't last. I'd hoped to find some cosmetics suited to the task, but I left it all a bit late. I asked my occasional ladyfriend Sekai if she had any tit-tape or eyelash glue that might do the trick, but she hadn't any with her when I saw her just before the pre-Hallows weekend. In the end, we settled on double-sided sellotape, which is pretty much what tit-tape is anyway, as I understand it. (I haven't had any call to use it before, being small-bosomed even for a man.)

It worked very well to start with. I bought a reasonably decent but reasonably-priced mask from a costume shop, one with an elastic cord to secure it to the head. This pulled it into a wonky angle, and snapped off in any case, so the mask had to be taped on. I'd trimmed it down - my nose was too big for the nasal section of the mask - and it fit quite snugly. However, eating and talking - something I do a lot of at any party - caused it to wriggle about and become detached. Eventually I gave up on the task of reattaching it, and my costume changed to "well-dressed man with sellotape on face." This wasn't as effective, but at least I was snappily attired. (The photo above fails to show my very swish two-tone opera-shoes, or the fine cut of my topcoat.)

I realised at the party that I should have thought more about this outfit. Several partygoers had used spirit gum in their make-up, and offere me some, only to all discover they'd forgotten to bring their touch up kits. Eventually I added a little fake blood to Hallowe'en up the look, so I became fairly Dracula-eqsue. In the end, I also acquired a very nice cloak from someone we'd dubbed the Scottish Widow (actually, she was Portuguese and unmarried). It was a very fun party, though. It was my flatmate's workmate's (the lovely Ela),   so I knew no one there, which is always fun. Met lots of fascinating new people. The costume turn-out was excellent, everyone put in the effort. There were two Ghostbusters - one commercially source, one home-made, with a very impressive proton pack incorporating working electronics. I hope to stay in touch and form a team next year (we need a black guy to be Winston, although he can of course arrive half way through the night). It was all good fun.

I'd decided on the Phantom last year after seeing the musical in December, as you may have read on this very blog. I'd then forgotten all about it, and had revived old, unused costume plans including van Helsing, the Goblin King and the Hitcher from The Mighty Boosh. I finally returned to the Phantom idea after waking up one morning with the score running through my head, so at least my subconscious was working away. Next year I may use one of the aforementioned characters, although as was pointed out at the party, my uncanny similarity to a young Rik Mayall would instead suggest Lord Flashheart. Or Richard Richard. Or Fred, of Drop Dead Fred. All nicely retro.

Hallowe'en isn't huge in the UK on the whole, not like in the US, but it's becoming more and more popular. Certainly down in Sussex, it's eclipsed by Guy Fawkes Night. Generally, clashing commitments would mean choosing one or the other, but this year I had enough free time to enjoy both! Sadly, I am utterly stuffed full of cold viruses, so have decided to sit this one out. Still, I had a good Hallowe'en, and joined friends and familiars in enjoying some classic spooky-themed movies, including Cushing-Lee-Troughton starring The Gorgon, and our traditional Ghostbusters double-bill. Also Batman Forever, for some reason - on VHS! Ah, the memories of 1996...

Now, I just need to work out what the hell I'm doing for New Year's.