Tansy Roberts is the author of Splashdance Silver (published when she was 20!), the Creature Court trilogy and Love and Romanpunk, among many other books. Furthermore, Tansy is one of the hosts of the Hugo-nominated science fiction podcast Galactic Suburbia, and the recently launched all-female Doctor Who podcast Verity. This lady is a whirlwind of geek chic fervor.
Heidi Richardson Evans is an artist, writer, and mom living in West Virginia “in a house made of mismatched reclaimed bricks.” When I asked Heidi to be a Lady Geek of the Week for BGC, she was fantastically over-the-moon, and put together a special treat for us: a TARDIS inspired makeup look.
Doesn’t she look amazing? I, for one, am particularly impressed, as every time I pick up vibrant eye makeup, I emerge looking like a 7-year-old who found her older sister’s eye shadow pallet from Claire’s. Yes, I speak from experience both as a 7-year-old and as a 22-year-old.
While I work on channeling the accomplishments of these ladies, you chic lady geeks out there should check out Tansy and Heidi’s interview with BGC on their love of our main man this month, Doctor Who:
Q: If you had to choose one Doctor to arrive on your doorstep and ask you to be a companion, who would you choose and why?
TR: Five, because then I could be fairly certain to get a room to myself on the TARDIS, and other companions to chat to. Though there is precedent that if I pick Eleven I can bring my partner and children too, so that would be fun.
HRE: Ten. 10. TEN! tennnn….10!!!!Ten(nant.)
I’m a NuWho fan who’s barely seen the original series. I was very taken with the show’s concept during Christopher Eccleston’s season as the Ninth Doctor, but I fell seriously in love with the character when David Tennant stepped into the role. His characterization of the powerfully complex emotions of the Doctor is heartbreaking. I’m so taken by the subtle beauty of his performance and he’s definitely “my Doctor.”
Q: If you could ask the Doctor one question, what would it be?
TR: So, that time you abandoned Susan with a cute boy in post-apocalyptic, Dalek-ravaged future Earth… do you really think it was OK not to let her pack a suitcase first?
HRE: I can’t think of anything profound that’s not cliched, so I’m going with “Can I get Jack Harkness’ phone number?”
Q: Cybermen! Daleks! Weeping Angels! Oh my! Which Doctor Who baddies are you most afraid of and why?
TR: I don’t remember ever feeling afraid while watching Doctor Who, probably because I was raised by an artist/theatre designing mother who kept pointing out how awesome it would be to build monsters from scratch! My favourite monsters are the spiders from Metebelis 3, though - leaping on people’s backs and controlling their minds is pretty creepy stuff.
HRE: The Weeping Angels are beautifully terrifying. The first time I saw them, the horror fan in me rejoiced, although I expected to have nightmares that night.
Q: Which companion would you want to get a drink with? What would you drink?
TR: Screwdrivers with Tegan, but only if she also did the Charleston.
HRE: Oh my. Do I answer with my libido and go for a seductive glass of Merlot with Martha Jones, or do I slam whiskey shots with Donna Noble until I’ve laughed myself sore? Given my crush’s apparent heterosexuality I guess drinks with hilarious Donna make more sense.
Q: What’s your favorite episode of Doctor Who? Why?
TR: You can never stop at one, right? I have a ridiculously soft spot for The Chase (1965), which is highly maligned by many fans, but contains so many lovely moments. Of the new series (and I find it hard to not keep separating them out in my head) I can’t go past the joy and cleverness of The Eleventh Doctor (2012).
HRE: My favorite episode’s actually during Matt Smith’s tenure as the Eleventh Doctor. I’m a passionate Neil Gaiman fan, and I adore the season 6 episode he wrote, “The Doctor’s Wife.” It’s my favorite performance of Smith’s since his first episode. It manages to be both very unique but also to read as a fan’s celebration of the program. The casting of Idris is just brilliant and the quirkiness of Gaiman’s work plays beautifully in the plot and works really well with the personality of Smith’s Doctor.
Q: You can go anywhere in time and space - where will you go? Why?
TR: Ancient Rome. Everyone who knows me is aware of my obsession with that era, and my academic background would be some use there, though my Latin is so far beyond rusty I would definitely be relying on the TARDIS telepathic circuits. Also I would use the opportunity to steal a copy of Agrippina’s family history, one of those infamous lost documents of history. And obviously to read it WHILE those telepathic circuits were still going because I honestly couldn’t bear to learn Latin all over again.
HRE: I’ve always fantasized about seeing Earth from the moon, so that would be the first stop. I imagine a hushed peace as I look out at our pretty planet from the doorway of the TARDIS. The time question is overwhelming, but just standing quietly on the moon’s surface is so appealing.
Q: Fill in the blank: The best part of Doctor Who is _________
TR: A new wonder around every corner, and old wonders to be rediscovered over and over.
HRE: To me the story of the Doctor is about otherness and profound loneliness. The alien character allows the viewer to project onto the Doctor her or his own experiences with exclusion or invisibility. Race, gender, sexual, or physical otherness all fit the frame of the Doctor’s journey.
The most powerful metaphor I draw from the series myself is about the Doctor’s human appearance. I have both visible and unseen disabilities, and this is mirrored in the experience of the Time Lord. The Doctor passes as human but lives with the deeply internal awareness of himself as separate. The tension between visual perception and the reality of his alienation is what makes the show resonate so deeply with me.
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, history scholar, tea drinker, fashion devotee, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic.
Follow her on twitter: @emmalynnbauer
We’re enjoying 30 days of Doctor Who during the month of March on Being Geek Chic! Since the show is celebrating it’s 50th Anniversary and Series 7 is rebooting at the end of the month, it seemed like the perfect time to reflect on why we love the Doctor, wish we could apply for the job of Companion and create our own Sonic Screwdrivers. So while we can’t board the TARDIS, we can spend a ridiculous amount of time replicating Amelia Pond’s signature look. Tell your friends and stick around for more. Allonsy!