Ashes to Ashes on DVD arrived in the post today. I've been twiddling my thumbs anxiously for it to arrive so that I can clear off my over-taxed harddrive. I plan a marathon tomorrow and maybe then I might finally finish the Meta Reaction Post of Doom I've meant to post for the past six weeks.

Even better than the DVDS is the book that also came. The Rules of Modern Policing (1973 Edition) by, yes, DCI Gene Hunt. I get such a kick out of pieces of fanon like this, between Gene's narrative and Chris' inserted footnotes (apparently this is his book) and the battered cover and fake coffee stains.It's ridiculous and I love it and it details the Cortina's engine. That is unbareably exciting. I love that car. It also has funny and skeevy doodles in the margines drawn by Chris, which makes me larf. Yes, I am a big dork for buying it but honestly. Hilarity ensues.

It comes with such gems and potential plot bunnies as:

1.1 Tools of the Trade
"[T]here are something you will need every day and should never leave home without:

e. Cuffs. Sounds obvious but you'd be surprised how many times I've seen an officer caught short of the bracelets. Not only are they a vital piece of equipment for keeping Johnny Slag trussed up and out of trouble, some of you might find a use for them at home as well. Know what I mean?"

I'm going to consider it canon now that Gene really wants to cuff Sam and have his way with him. Oh yes.


Also: yay Moffat! Like almost everyone else, I find this to be fantastic and reassuring news.

I sat up all night waiting for Radiohead pre-sale tickets, which of course didn't go up until 8am -- a time I would have been awake anyway.

In the intermin between the fifteen hourly vigils over at W.A.S.T.E., I watched every episode of Life on Mars apart from the finale and attempted to write a reaction post to Ashes to Ashes, which I caught up on this weekend. The reaction post turned into something of an essay, which terrified me and made me wonder if I should construct a thesis statement, which terrifed me even more. (Everyone knows thesis statements don't belong in fandom.) So I gave up on that to watch more Life on Mars and cry for a moment over a picture of Thom Yorke (it was this one if you're curious) and research punctuation on Wikipedia. (Did you know curly brackets are called flower brackets in India?)

There almost doesn't seem to be a point to watching the episodes anymore. I've seen them so many times I can't even think up a way to describe what it feels like to watch them now. It's like breathing, except perhaps underwater, where the bubbles still catch my attention but I forget now that I'm breathing oxygen. Or something.

The finale would solve this dilema, as it would make me go back to watch everything again searching for little clues of foreshowing, but my mind seems to have formed a Second Coming complex about it: I think I will watch it in the near future but in reality, it could be 2000 years from now that I actually see it, give or take a few decades.

It makes me miss Ashes to Ashes, which made a good substitute for Life on Mars cravings. Ashes to Ashes is the methadone to Life on Mars' heroin-like addictive properties. And yes, I did just compare a television programme to both Jesus and a highly illegal drug.

The state of this entry reflects well what Radiohead does to my brain.

After about twelve hours of downloading, I finally watched Ashes to Ashes. 

Confession: I still haven't seen the finale to Life on Mars. I don't know when I will. I don't know if I will -- at least for some time. So I actually have no idea what happened to Sam. I don't know how thoroughly things were resolved. I am walking blind, hoping I don't run into things. :)

It isn't Life on Mars; that's a given. Of course, I didn't expect it to be Life on Mars either. I went in expecting it to be something (a good something, a bad something, a generally different something -- something) and it was something, and I don't feel disappointed. 

I don't exactly feel elated either. As I purposefully kept myself from setting expectations, I can't very well say the episode didn't meet them. But it's not Life on Mars and I like Life on Mars and I am exceedingly wary of anything that may jepordise my love. Especially when it's still new and shiny and fresh from the box like my Life on Mars love is. 

( Spoilers for Ashes to Ashes 1x01 )

Um. That might be it? I think this is long enough already. I await patiently for the next episode, but again, no expectations. Now I want to read copious amounts of Sam and Gene playing around together and Sam being, you know, around. (JOHN SIMM!)