BlueBox Coffee

Today is a bittersweet day for many Whovians. For those in the UK, we are moments away from Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill’s final scenes on Doctor Who. It has been an amazing couple of years with the characters of Amy and Rory on Doctor Who, but big changes are on their way.

Since the introduction of the 11th Doctor, there have been two constant companions. This is unusual in Doctor Who, but it has worked brilliantly. The dynamics between Amy and Rory, and of course the Doctor, have brought many laughs, and possibly an equal number of tears. If I am correct in my assumption of how Amy and Rory will be leaving the show, I have a feeling the tears aren’t finished.

Despite the fact that I am a bit sad to see these amazing characters go, I do believe it is time for a change in the show. Rarely do you see 3 seasons without a major cast change in Doctor Who. That, in the end, is what keeps us coming back for more. Even when plots are recycled, they are always new and fresh because the actors change, and the characters grow and move on.

Speaking of moving on, I am excited to see the new companion, and the tailspin I believe she is going to put the Doctor in when she arrives. We already saw Jenna-Louise Coleman as Oswin in the current series’ opener, and it was quite a performance. I haven’t been able to confirm whether this is the same character that she will be playing as the Doctor’s companion, just at a different point in time, or if this is another character entirely, perhaps a descendant or ancestor of Clara, which is the name that has been announced as the new companion’s name.

I am sure I will be posting more about today’s episode of Doctor Who in the next few days, as well as speculating more on what is to come. This next year is a big year for Whovians, some of whom may have been following the Doctor’s adventures for half a century, and the Doctor shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.

For the Doctor Who fans, tonight is a great night. Doctor who is returning! You can watch the new episode at 7:20 PM on BBC One, or 9:00 PM/8:00 PM Central on BBC America. In tonight’s episode, Asylum of the Daleks, the Daleks kidnap the doctor. Apparently there is somewhere that even the mighty Daleks are afraid of, and they force the Doctor to go on a mission in this terrifying place.

I am quite excited for series 7. The places Steven Moffat is taking the series never fail to astound me, and this new series sounds like it will be no exception. Starting the new series with a Dalek episode is brilliant. From the bits I’m hearing, I expect this episode to be on the same level as A Good Man Goes to War.

After the episode, leave your comments about the episode on my Facebook page. I would love to see some discussion about the episode, but let’s try to avoid the spoilers for those who haven’t seen it yet.

I have some sad news to share today. Mary Tamm, who played the first Romana in Doctor Who, has passed away today. Mary played alongside Tom Baker’s fourth Doctor, and is viewed as one of the most popular companions of all time.

Mary has been fighting cancer for the past 18 months, until she finally succumbed to it today. In addition to the many fans who will miss her, Mary left behind her husband, Marcus, daughter, Lauren, and grandson, Max.

As popular and well known as she was for her role as Romana, there are a great many people who will miss her on the stage. Mary had a long stage career, which was only interrupted when she fell ill.

Mary Tamm will be missed by all, but at least we will all have our memories and a number of videos to remember her by. I have personally been watching some of her Doctor Who episodes on YouTube recently, and there are a number of places where DVD’s and BluRay’s of classic Doctor Who can be purchased.

One of my dreams is to eventually own a Doctor Who themed coffee shop. If you didn’t know that about me already, now you understand why this blog is a fusion of coffee and Doctor Who. This also means that I get excited about things like the new season of Doctor Who coming next month, or the newly opened Doctor Who Experience.

Just hours ago, BBC News Wales posted an article online about the opening of the new Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff. The Doctor Who Experience is based at Porth Teigr, next door to the Roath Lock studios where Doctor Who is filmed. The 3000 square meter building houses a replica of the tardis, interactive sets and props from various episodes of Doctor Who. The experience will rotate out props over the next five years as new episodes are produced, and new props become available.

For a show that is celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, this is a testament to the amazing writers, actors, directors, etc. that have kept Doctor Who going for so long, without running out of stories to tell. What other show could pull off the creation of an attraction, such as the Doctor Who Experience, after nearly a 50 year run?

I for one am excited to see where the next couple of years will take Doctor Who, and its fans. I am hearing great things about the upcoming series of Doctor Who, including the inclusion of one of my favorite American actors, Ben Browder. I can’t wait to see Ben Browder in action with Matt Smith, even if I have to wait until the third episode of the series to see it.

For more information on the Doctor Who Experience, see the article on the BBC News Wales website.

So what do coffee and Doctor Who have to do with each other? Almost nothing. Nonetheless, they are both obsessions of mine. Most of what I post on here will be related to coffee, but I can’t promise that the occasional Doctor Who related post won’t pop up from time to time. These occurrences may even be in the same post when the opportunity presents itself.

My goal with this blog is to educate the world about coffee, review coffee shops and coffee beverages, and share any exciting Doctor Who news that comes my way. When I review a coffee shop, I will review the quality of the beverages, the atmosphere and the service. I will also do a price comparison. Because most people are familiar with the pricing at Starbucks, I will use Starbucks as a baseline comparison for price, indicating with dollar signs whether it is more expensive ($$$), less expensive ($$$) or the same price ($$$) as Starbucks. For more or less expensive, the number of dollar signs will indicate how much of a difference there is, with four dollar signs indicating a difference of a dollar or more.

I will make every effort to post a review every Wednesday, and do one other post each week. Some weeks I may get crazy and post every day, others I may get busy and not get the chance to post at all. For the most part though, expect at least two posts a week. For this week, I have two posts planned, in addition to this one. I will be reviewing a coffee shop tomorrow, and plan to start my series on the history of coffee on Thursday. I hope you enjoy this blog, and find yourself both entertained and enlightened.