Umlauts weren't an option

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We've been quiet these past months, we know - blame life and the distinct lack of New Who for that. You could also blame the RSC if you're so inclined: since our various returns from Stratford last autumn, we all seem to have been in a bit of a Tennant-induced haze.

David Tennant: Weapon of Mass Distraction, indeed.

Be that as may be, though, we are indeed back to writing. lgrace61 was kind enough to bid on our services in the Support Stacie auction this past spring, and as a result we've shaken off our respective lethargies and banded together to pen a story based off her prompts. What this means, hopefully, is that we'll be back to writing other things again soon - goodness knows we've got plenty of ideas we keep batting around. It's really just a matter of one of us starting a story, and then the rest of us piling on.

And then of course there are the forthcoming Doctor Who Specials. It's a very good bet that the entire membership of the Cooperative is in deep, deep denial about the impending departure of David Tennant - and as a result, there's no guarantee that we'll be penning our usual Hotness Quotient.

Oh, who are we kidding? Of course we will! Snark and Sexy will surely see us through what promises to be a trying time.

Thank you all for your patience during our prolonged absence. Happy Summer to everyone!

The Carlisle Cooperative is an animal rarely sighted in the wild. However, we definitely make appearances for great causes, and, for this reason, we've signed up for the Support Stacie April Author Auction. You can go here to read all about this great cause, and then you can bid for us between 11:59 pm on April 3 and 9 pm on April 6 (all times Central). If you win, you win a 2,500-word fic, written to your prompt. You can go here to read up on what we'll write, and you can go here for a full listing of all the many awesome authors in all the many awesome fandoms that you can bid on. Go, read, spread the word far and wide!

The Carlisle Cooperative came to the conclusion that somebody has to go study David Tennant in the wild. By which we mean, in his native habitat, his flat. I mean, it is only fair that we be thorough for the sake of science, and the Cooperative hereby volunteers to conduct extremely detailed experiments on the following topics:

 

Don’t worry. We will be sure to write up our findings and publish them in a scholarly journal for everyone to read. Then we’ll hit the lecture circuit. We believe our presentation will contain A LOT of visual aids.

Got any topics we missed? Tell us what they are!

 

( Yes, We've Been Gone a Long Time. Forgive Us?  )

We now begin the second episode, after having a debate that I am not drunk enough even though I have had three and a half glasses of wine. Well, it's true that my typing is quite impressive. I am please with myself. Oops., Pleased. Something. Here we go.

( More of Our Awesomeness )

In the first 5 seconds it's clear that this show is going to rock!

OMG says the others!!!!

(Honest Porcupine's manpanion momentarily took over the keyboard.)

It's Election Night, everyone! So we, responsible Americans that we are, are watching US Life on Mars. Here, for your reading pleasure, are our reactions.
( OMG. You guys. It's awesome. Our conversation. Not the show. )

Things are quiet here in the Cooperative--we don't have a story in the works (yet), there's no fresh Who, nor even pictures from filming, and a number of us have yet to see Hamlet.

So what's a group to do?

Mock things, of course, And, in this particular instance, mock the US Life on Mars. It all started innocently enough yesterday, when the Honest Porcupine was bemoaning her job. The Honest Porcupine is a Woman of Much Writerly Talent, and it was suggested she put in for a job with io9; her classic Honest Porcupine response was, "That would be one of the best jobs ever. Well, at least until I had a deadline and an assignment I didn't want, like: Give us 600 words on how the US LoM is superior to the original. To which I'd reply, "How about two words? I. Quit.""

The Compiler, being a clever sort, immediately rejoined with, "You could take that topic and twist it. "Reason No. One the US LoM Is Better than the Original: The lead actor isn't nearly as compelling, so the show isn't nearly as addictive, and this is better for your social life, because you spend less time watching the show alone in your apartment.""

At which point things spiralled out of control, and the following list was born.

( Top Ten reasons US Life on Mars is Better than the Original )

We still anticipate having the Hamlet HQ up by (US) Thanksgiving--that's time enough for all of us to have seen it (some twice, lucky dogs), to recover from it, and to put our thoughts to paper. That assumes, of course, that the Compiler doesn't get buried unter heaps and heaps of work again, as happened to her in September.

( You are about to view content that may only be appropriate for adults. )

Why, recap Hamlet, of course! While we won't be seeing Hamlet as a group, each of the members of the Cooperative hold tickets to the Stratford run of Hamlet. And, inspired by both the BBC review (they stole our lines!)*, and this particular post from unfolded73, we decided what the heck. Why not?

There's just one catch--the HQ [containing hair, darkness, wardrobe--and even, possibly, a sexy scene (or ten) to watch out for!] won't be posted until after all members of the Cooperative have seen the play. And that means no Hamlet HQ until November.

*"Tennant also uses his hair to great theatrical effect. From the sleek combed-back style of his first scene, he ruffles it to display despair, rage and madness. It deserves a credit of its very own."


  

Whew--where did the time go?! It seems like just last week--well, perhaps last month--that the lot of us returned to our computers, frantically hunting down episodes at a weekend, watching, watching, re-watching; e-mailing to discuss, always hoping frantically that everyone else had found the episode and had a fast connection. (not that we, ah, did anything naughty to watch these episodes uncut. Nosiree). Then re-watching the episodes (generally), analysing and thinking and writing, firing e-mails off to The Compiler so she could work her wonderful magic and craft so many disparate entries into one narrative (er--we apologise again for the Text Block of Huge in the Midnight HQ).

You can't imagine how much time The Compiler took out of her very, very busy schedule to do this stuff. She's fantastic, and deserves the deepest thanks for her work.

We're sad to see Series 4--and Donna's run--end. But we're excited by what we've seen of the Christmas Special (David Morrisey!!!), and we're keen to see what the specials will be like, as well as what direction Moffatt will take as show-runner. And we think it goes without saying that the lot of us are very, very excited to see Hamlet at various points in the coming months.

Thanks, everyone, for being wonderful readers. We'll see you in January.

The Poster

( HQ: TSE and JE )

We're not shunning The Stolen Earth (although one or two of us aren't fond of it): We'll be posting a joint TSE/JE HQ this Friday.

First and foremost: There are no Text Blocks of HUGE in this HQ. Well, certainly not in comparison to last week's HQ (we are very sorry about that). We'll, ah, work on the problem, should it arise again with either or both of the last two eps.

Turn Left. The episode bored some of us and made others of us cheer--but overall, it was a nice breather before the last two eps of the season. And are we the only ones who've found ourselves using that phrase a bit more than we used to, since watching the ep? Personally, I've mystified more than one co-worker by saying "Shoulda Turned Left" after something went disastrously wrong. Thanks, Uncle Rusty!

Having now seen all of Series 4, I'm going to take a chance and say that Midnight is, without a doubt, the Cooperative's favourite episode from Series 4. We think you'll probably pick up on that from the HQ, which is easily the longest one we've ever written. It's a tight story, reminiscent of classic sci-fi episodes, with remarkable acting even by David Tennant standards. It's haunting, and it's a peek of something that none of us probably ever want to admit. (Speaking solely as the Poster, it's the best episode of New Who, although I know that my fellow Cooperative members don't necessarily agree).

It's a fantastic episode. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

( HQ: Midnight )

Just a reminder--SciFi is showing a Twilight Zone marathon in honor of US Independence Day, which means there will be no HQ this week (which is a shame--we all agree that "Midnight" is the best of Series 4, to date--and yes, that includes "Turn Left" and "The Stolen Earth").

To our American friends, have a happy and safe Fourth. To our British friends, we wish you the best of luck with the Series 4 finale--we hope it goes well. We in the Cooperative will be using  various means to get our grubby hands on it, and will be watching, drinks in hand, Saturday evening.

And to anyone not covered by the above two categories? Have a lovely weekend.

Things remain crazy here in the Cooperative--what is real-life thinking, intruding on our quality writing and DW-analyzing time?! Still, we will not be defeated--we will review S4 episodes and compile HQ's! (Well, unless you're the Poster, in which case you let life kind of run roughshod over you, but promise the Compiler you'll make up for the missed HQ by finding and posting the pictures from the Sexy Scene).

With that rather rambling into, we bring you:

In news of the potentially unsurprising...

Due to things being a little crazy for the Cooperative, we will be combining the Hotness Quotients for Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead. The (potentially) "mega" HQ for these episodes will be posted next week.

We hope you enjoy tonight's episode. Those of us who are home *glances at the Compiler and the Duck* will be watching...and snarking.

Title – This is Not the Story of Pippin (1/1)
Author – The Carlisle Cooperative
Rating – T
Pairing – Ten/Rose
Spoilers – None.
Disclaimer – Alas, none of the characters portrayed herein (including the TARDIS) belong to the Carlisle Cooperative. We write this story out of deep love and respect for the characters, especially as created by RTD, but recognize that they are the property of the BBC.
Summary – The Cooperative commits Baby!Fic.  
Author’s Notes – You might have noticed a certain habit, within the Cooperative, of birthday!fics being posted on the occasion of a members, well, birthday. Our fine and lovely Compiler had a birthday recently—and, slackers that we were, the rest of us rather forgot to write a story. The Poster, feeling guilty as all hell, sent the Compiler an e-mail, offering her the story of her choice; the Compiler, being a lover of baby!fic (and knowing the Poster abhors the stuff) stated she’d like a baby!fic, set in the hedgehog!verse, and based off of prompt number #16 from the June Picture Prompts at time_and_chips.

Guilt being a powerful thing—and because the Compiler truly is a dear soul—the Poster and the Duck set forth to create...baby!fic. We’re sorry. We’re so sorry.

(We hope the Complier enjoys her fic. Happy Belated Birthday, Compiler!)

 

This week sees the addition of a new member to the Cooperative, replacing one of the original members whose life has kind of overtaken CC duties. (before you ask how to join--much like secret spy organizations, we come a-knocking when we're looking for people to fill the ranks). The newest member has taken to the HQ like a duck to water...so much so that it's tempting to call her The Duck.

Or perhaps not. We're sure she'll name herself (psuedonymically, as it were) in the near future.

But on to proper business! As a whole, we thoroughly enjoyed this week's episode--we hope you do, too.

We think we're back on track this week, after the oddly (and poorly) time hiatus taken by SciFi to ensure they didn't inadvertently close the multi-week lag from original air dates.

There's an additional note behind the cut--but let me apologize in advance for the extra-snarky version of this week's HQ. The episode just kind of...brought it out in us.

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