Doctor Who is BACK!

Let's hope Peter Capaldi doesn't muck it all up, shall we?

Talkin' About Philly Comic Con, With Square Peg

Tableau and Square Peg Take On Comic Con

This weekend, I had the privilege of attending the Philadelphia Wizard World Comic Con with my good friend (and occasional Guest Blogger) Square Peg. It was may first Comic Con, and, though we only attended for one day, we were able to see a lot of events, panels, and art:

Tableau Your Mind's 300th Post! [Hooray]

This is officially the 300th Post on Tableau Your Mind. It's been over three years since my first post, back when I was still writing in the 'we and us' tense and drawing most of my pictures on Microsoft Paint.  'we' Over 299 posts, that 'we' has changed to 'I' and  Paint has changed to Photoshop, Illustrator, the occasional Scanned Drawing, and, yeah, Paint. Still the mission of this blog has basically stayed the same: be a place for people to have fun, read about all different elements of pop culture both broad and niche, and look at some rudimentary fan art (hey, I didn't take Art 1 twice in high school for nothing).

With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to look at the drafts of some of the pictures I drew, a glimpse at how a 'painting' goes from initial sketch to finished product:

Best of 2013 Part 1: Television and Music

Oh, 2013! What an interesting grouping of days. It's a strange thing, looking back on a year, because it's hard to remember anything that happened more than a month ago. Was there music before Beyoncé's December album? Was there television before the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special? It's difficult to say; the mind grows cloudy. Still, in an effort to fully look back at the last year, I've compiled a list of what I feel to be the top pop culture events of the last year, conveniently ranked and separated by genre. Travel with me as we, in Part 1, look back at the television and music events that made 2013 so 2013:

It's My Birthday!

July 30th (TODAY) is my birthday. I was birthed many years ago on this very day. Since I haven't ever really written my name on this blog, you're probably trying to figure out which famous person I am: Lisa Kudrow or Arnold Schwarzenegger.  I could easily be either, but, if I'm being completely honest, I'm more similar to the picture to below than either of the aforementioned A-listers:

My photoshop, my selfie

Anyway, I thought I should do something special on this blog to commemorate occasion. So, in the same way that birthdays are spent recognizing hard work and regret, I thought it best to take a look back at the Tableau Your Mind articles that never were, the articles that never quite made it to print. Often, by the time I draw a picture or draft an article, the subject matter doesn't hold any interest. Often I just don't have an opinion on something, or I'm being lazy, or the world has forgotten the thing I set out to write about. Whatever the reason, I have, over the years of writing this blog, amassed a pretty large collection of useless pictures and article snippets. Here are some lost articles from the past year of my life:

Tableau Your Mind's 200th Post!

It took a little under two years to make it happen, but Tableau Your Mind has finally reached its 200th blog post. You're reading it RIGHT NOW! They say it only takes a person 16-21 times to make doing something into a habit, and it definitely feels like, after 200 posts, we have moved beyond "habit" and into "psychopathic fanaticism." Over these 200 labors of like, we have written about topics covering all elements of popular culture, including food, movies, music, television, and so much more. We've done posts on Hollywood "It" Couples, Hipster Babies, and Pedophilia in Film. We've compared the stars of Tangled and Salt and looked at what would happen if Mr. Feeny suffered a "Wardrobe Malfunction." We've doted on 30 Rock, Kristen Bell, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, and Batman, and hated on Kristen Stewart, Slow Motion in Indie Movies, and Easy Mac. We've even learned how to pronounce Gotye, just in time for him to become culturally irrelevant. We really wouldn't believe that there were 200 posts if it weren't for the photographic evidence:

AFTERWORD by Amelia Willams

from "The Angels Take Manhattan" on Doctor Who.

Hello old friend.

And here we are. You and me on the last page.

By the time you read these words, Rory and I will be long gone, so know that we lived well, and we’re very happy, and above all else, know that we will love you. Always.

Sometimes I do worry about you, though. I think, once we’re gone, you won’t be coming back here for a while and you might be alone, which you should never be.

Don’t be alone, Doctor.

And do one more thing for me. There’s a little girl waiting in a garden. She’s going to wait a long while, so she’s going to need a lot of hope.

Go to her. Tell her a story.

Tell her that if she’s patient, the days are coming that she’ll never forget. Tell her she’ll go to sea and fight pirates, she’ll fall in love with a man who’ll wait two thousand years to keep her safe. tell her she’ll give hope to the greatest painter who ever lived, and save a whale in outer space.

Tell her, this is the story of Amelia Pond, and this is how it ends.

Doctor Who Fall Finale Recap [Updated]

Amy, Rory, and those
damn Weeping Angels

The Ponds bade farewell in tonight's episode of Doctor Who, "The Angels Take Manhattan." This being the last episode with the Ponds and with the reappearance of the Weeping Angels, it was obviously frightening, emotional, and devastating. We don't want to spoil much, but we will share a few of our thoughts:

In their final hour, it was nice to see all of the Ponds (Amy, Rory, and Melody) back together, and Rory and Amy both had some nice moments with their daughter.

Once again, people were very keen to tell the Doctor that he shouldn't be alone. We get it, he gets antsy and murdery and lonely when he's by himself. WE GET IT!

All the talk of the Ponds' FINAL EPISODE made it very clear to

Amy Pond Week Comes to a Close

It's the final journey of Amy and Rory with The Doctor tonight. 

We are freaking out.

Doctor Who: Biggest WTF Moment [Amy Pond Week]

The Doctor Prepares to Melt Fake Amy

We've seen a lot of things on the last two series of Doctor Who that have surprised us.  Silurians were on Earth before humans, whatever holds the image of an Angel is an Angel, River Song is Melody Pond. This show loves playing with expectations, throwing a curve ball, doing a complete 180, and tons of other cliches. For us, though, the biggest WTF moment of the last two seasons has to be the discovery that Amy Pond was a Flesh duplicate for several episodes before being outed as such (and then melted) by the doctor.

The Flesh are an interesting enemy, which we detailed a little bit in a previous post. The actual flesh is a learning, growing substance which can effectively mimic human speech and

Rory Williams: A Companion's Companion

We've been spending a lot of time this week talking about Amy Pond, the Girl Who Waited, but in the process we've neglected the most important man in her life. No… not the Doctor. He's only the most important man in everyone else's life. Of course, the man who's the best-of-the-best for Amy is her dopey husband, Rory Williams.

When Rory was first introduced in the beginning of Series 5, he seemed kind of like a one-off character. Amy was clearly more interested in the Doctor than she was in him, and her impending nuptials only seemed like a distraction rather than an actual, viable story line. What has developed over the past

Taran Killam and Karen Gillan: A Comparison [Amy Pond Week]

If there's one thing we hear over and over again, it's that people love Saturday Night Live and Doctor Who, but it's very difficult to tell SNL's Taran Killam apart from Doctor Who's Karen Gillan. We totally get it. Not only are their names similar, they are also both leggy firecrackers with adorable goofiness written all over their faces. In honor of Amy Pond Week (and to help our readers through a difficult time), we have made a helpful chart detailing the many differences and similarities between these comedy mavens. Enjoy:

Amy Pond's Greatest Foes [Amy Pond Week]

Amy's Enemies - Exhaustive, Frightening.

Over the past two and a half series of Doctor Who, the Doctor, Amy, and Rory have had quite a few adventures. They've saved tons of people's lives, including a Star Whale, Silurians, and, of course, humanity. And they have done so by fighting, running away from, and trying to understand their many antagonists. In honor of Amy's last adventure with the Doctor, we're looking back at the best villains, the ones who have affected Amy the most:

5. Daleks

The Daleks have found their way into many of Amy Pond's adventures with the Doctor, and each time they manage to be just a little bit more terrifying.  As the Doctor is fond of saying, they are his oldest and greatest enemies. First, they were Winston Churchill's secret army

Hipster Baby: Doctor Who Edition! [Amy Pond Week]

Amy Pond is such a Hipster.

Amy Pond Being Awesome [Amy Pond Week]

You're Welcome:

Amy Pond: The Girl Who Waited [Amy Pond Week]

The Girl Who Waited

Amy Pond, travelling companion to the 11^th Doctor on Doctor Who, is defined by many things: Her wit, her wide eyes, her gung-ho attitude, her hair of indeterminate redness. But what really sets her apart from other companions is that Amy is constantly being left behind. She is the Girl Who Waited, but only insomuch as the other people in her life are the People Who Leave. Abandonment (and the ensuing loneliness) is actually a huge part of Steven Moffat's Doctor Who, and it's not just Amy that experiences it. Still, since it is Amy Pond Week at Tableau Your Mind, let's explore Amy waiting, and what that means for her as a character.

Amy Pond: Goofy, Sexy, Cool [Amy Pond Week]

In our continuing endeavor to bring you all Amy Pond, all the time (along with aaallll your Classic Rock favorites), here is a video of Amy Pond being goofy, flirty, and, as the uploader mentions, a little bit of a pervert.

Brilliant.

It's Amy Pond Week at Tableau Your Mind! [Doctor Who]

Near the End, Let's Go Back to the Beginning

In case you didn't know, this Saturday will mark the last episode of Amy Williams (nee Pond) and Rory Williams as the regular companions of the 11^th Doctor on Doctor Who. A companion is a person who travels with the Doctor on his many journeys, acting as anything from his assistant to his therapist. Since Amy has been the Doctor's companion for the entirety of this blog's existence, it is only fair for us to devote an entire week to the hours and years we spent with Amy, The Girl who Waited, and her Raggedy Doctor. We actually (accidentally) preemptively said goodbye to her almost exactly one year ago, much to our eternal embarrassment.  But now it's really happening, and mum is the word about how she will make her final exit. But we do know that she is leaving. For sure this time.

So here it is: the Amy Pond Week on Tableau Your Mind, which we're sure will get about as many viewers as it will have writers (like, 4). Still, we're willing to do it, because we

Good News, Everybody! [A New Hope]

Hey Tableau Your Mind readers. We know that it's been a tough few weeks. Amy Poehler and Will Arnett announced that they were separating. Michael Clarke Duncan died. It's the anniversary of 9/11. Chris Brown still exists. The Olympics are over.

Still, all hope is not lost. We combed the internet, looking for some good pop culture news to make you feel better, to give you hope in a world seemingly bereft of kindness and love. And let's just say that we definitely found some gems:

A Moment, Please, for Amy Pond

Spoiler Alert if you aren’t caught up on this season’s Doctor Who.

(Seriously, it's a pretty big spoiler)

Amelia Pond Williams, wife of Rory Williams and mother of Melody Williams AKA River Song, ended her two season run in last Saturday’s episode of Doctor Who.

Companions of the Doctor seem to serve a few functions. First, they are constantly asking questions, which makes the exposition in Doctor Who (of which there is a lot) seem less clunky. Secondly, they act as an audience surrogate, providing a relatable entry point into the series. Sure, some companions aren’t exactly relatable, but they’re certainly more human than The Doctor.

What I find to be the most important function for a companion, though, is her own journey with The Doctor and the lessons and character growth along the way. Each of the Doctor’s companions has a story to tell, and Amy Pond’s was always one of maturation, of growing past being ‘the girl who waited’ and into the girl who lived.

This season (or series), however, Amy has seemed, more than ever, to be spinning her wheels. Once she chose Rory over the Doctor, the writers didn’t seem to know what to do with her.  Karen Gillan is absolutely wonderful in the role, but this season has found very little for her to do, especially these second-half episodes. Even her (possibly) penultimate episode, which focused primarily on her, was just rehashing old material about her life and the choices she’s made.

Amy Pond was a wonderful character. She was delightful and fun, which was a nice counterpoint to Matt Smith’s more tortured Doctor 11 (though nobody did tortured Doctor better than David Tennant). I look forward to her return.

But -- for now -- goodbye, Amy Pond, most whimsical of all the Doctor Who companions.  You will be missed.

And goodbye, Rory.

UPDATE: Okay, so I was totally wrong about this. Not only were Amy and Rory back in a small way in the last episode of this season and the Christmas special, they will both be back with the Doctor for another half season. I literally have no idea how their story lines are going to continue any further, but I know better than to look a gift Doctor Who in the mouth.