Why Jessica Drew Needs to Be in the Captain Marvel Movie

For those who don't know, Jessica Drew (aka Spider-Woman) is Carol Danvers' best friend and fellow Avenger from the comics. We haven't gotten official news on whether she'll be in the Captain Marvel movie, but I'm considering her a safe bet for inclusion. Just in case, though, here's a list of reasons she absolutely needs to be in the movie.

All good superheroes need a sidekick. Tony Stark has Rhodey, Steve Rogers has Bucky, Carol Danvers has Jess. The sidekick is a classic movie staple, and no good superhero movie would be complete without one. As Carol's BFF for many years now, Jess is the perfect choice for the role. A single movie probably wouldn't have time for two separate, in-depth origin stories, so I propose that Jessica already have her powers at the beginning of the movie. She can be a former Hydra test subject who's just trying to live a quiet life until Carol gets into a superpowered fight. Carol doesn't even have to know Jess' tragic backstory until they get into a fight and she starts shooting venom blasts.

Bechdel test. This movie is female-written and directed, so I'm not too worried about this. However, a woman in the number two billing would go a long way towards making this movie as female-centric as possible.

Tatiana Maslany needs to become a superhero. Tat is the perfect choice for a lot of roles, but many fans will be disappointed if she doesn't get the chance to play a superhero.

I ship it. Carol certainly doesn't need a love interest, but all the Marvel superheroes so far have had one. She's been connected with Rhodey at various points in the comics. However, Don Cheadle is more than 20 years older than Brie Larson, so that'd be a bit weird. It'd be far easier to to upgrade Jess from best friend to girlfriend. Plus, the MCU is sorely lacking on LGBT+ rep.

The MCU is drowning in testosterone. Of the current movie line-up, we have a total of eight-ish superheroines, at least 15 superheroes, and two heroes of insufficiently-addressed gender identity. I'm not sure how much one character helps, but it's a start on a long list of characters they could be using.

No, she's not a Spider-Man knock-off. Jessica is a completely separate character, with different powers and origins, from Peter Parker.

It'd be an interesting follow-up to the Hydra arc. The movie would show Jess about three years after Talbot's forces killed off the rest of Hydra. After being raised from birth as a Nazi before defecting, she'd be an example of one of Hydra's failures. She'd still be coping with all the ways they ruined her life and Carol could help her deal with that.

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Things I Want to See in The Last Jedi

I've put together a kind of wishlist of stuff I hope they include in Star Wars Episode 8.

None of the Rey theories are correct. Most fans are speculating that Rey is the daughter of Luke or Obi-Wan's granddaughter. That's really quite limiting seeing how there's an entire galaxy full of force-sensitives she could be descended from. All the Jedi were killed, but there are other force-sensitives who were neither Jedi nor Sith. She could be anyone.

Force ghost Anakin. There's been a lot of speculation about how Anakin is probably desperately trying to turn Kylo back to the light side. Kylo probably stopped listening to him, or maybe Snoke fed him some lies to convince him to stop listening. Also, force ghosts are extremely useful for espionage purposes.

Princess General Leia. I want either Finn or Rey to not be sure whether Leia's proper title is princess or general, so they just called her Princess General.

Food issues. Finn and Rey are probably both going have some sort of eating disorder. As a result of his conditioning, Finn will likely eat any food offered to him in its entirety, but only eat that which is offered to him. Rey's probably going to have problems with portion control and hoarding. They're both probably going to be amazed by the fact that they can just come into the mess hall whenever they want and get a snack.

JediStormPilot. I've been around the block enough times to know that Rey and Finn are probably going to hook up. However, there's definitely some feelings between all three of our new heroes. It'd be much more interesting if they had a poly relationship. Of course, Disney would never approve that.

Poe calls Leia mom. That's it. That's the entire idea.

Leia's force-sensitivity. They only just scratched the surface with this in Force Awakens when she sensed Han's death. She doesn't seem much like a Jedi warrior, but she can probably at least defend herself. Though it would be cool if she had a green lightsaber in storage somewhere. If we don't at least see her stop a blaster bolt, I'll be disappointed.

Phasma gets more screentime. She had one or two scenes and then was promptly thrown into a trash compactor. At the very least, they could have shown her fighting the tentacle monster that probably lives down there.

Rey's lightsaber. Either she keeps using Anakin's or builds a double-ended one. If she builds one, it has to be double-ended. She's already got lots of experience with that fighting style, there's no way she would go with that option.

Inappropriate force usage. Including, but not limited to: flying, playing "keep away," stealing food, poking people, performing unnecessary upgrades to the Millennium Falcon, rearranging tools when Poe is attempting repairs to Black One, braiding people's hair when you think they aren't paying attention (Leia is totally paying attention), and "hey, watch this."

Give Rey a female friend. Leia's more of a mentor than a friend. I'm not sure if Jess is in this movie.

Doctor Who Future Continuity - Revision 4

Since it's been a while since I've done a future continuity post, here's a little reminder of what this article actually is. I'm basically going to try to guess what's coming up in the future of Doctor Who. This is not based on any inside information from the BBC, I'm as in the dark as any other fan.

First off, what we do know

• Season 10 is Steven Moffat's last and will air in spring 2017
• The only regular episode this year will be the Christmas special
• Chris Chibnall will take over as showrunner in season 11, due for 2018
• The spin-off series Class will air on BBC Three & BBC America in fall of this year
• So far, Class has no cast members, but it has a writer in the form of Patrick Ness
• Both shows will film sometime this year (rumors point to April/May)
• Peter Capaldi will be in season 10, no word on who his companion is

Now for the fun part. This time around, there's a lot more to speculate on then there has been in the past.

If we follow the convention of David and Matt, then Peter should stick around for three seasons spread across four years. That puts his regeneration at the end of season 10 (if we follow convention even more, in the Christmas special, however that may fall under Chibnall). This allows the introduction of a new Doctor to line up perfectly with the introduction of a new showrunner. My personal choices for 13th Doctor are Hayley Atwell or Tatiana Maslany. They both have shows currently going on, but they're only 10 episodes a year, which leaves room for Doctor Who's extra 13. However, all three shows are spring ones, so something would have to move if one of these actresses wants both parts. I did hear that Orphan Black had five seasons planned out, so that would end it in time for Tat to become the Doctor. On the other hand, Supernatural also had five seasons planned when it first started, and look at it now.

Season 10 is going to mark the introduction of the new companion. I don't really have any particular actresses in mind for the part (except maybe Alison Scagliotti). I do however, have some strong opinions on the character. Mostly, I do not want yet another 21st century Earth chick. Every companion since Peri (except for Jack and River) has been from contemporary Earth. All but two were from somewhere in Britain. A little more variety would be nice. My first choice would be someone from colonial America. Another idea, which I read in a fan fic, is a college student from the future (preferably not the 51st century AGAIN) on a trip to early 21st century London. The thing is, she doesn't admit to being from the future right away. It'd be even more interesting if she time jumped illegally and hid it from the Doctor because she thought he was a time agent. Alternately, bring back Jenny (the Time Lady one).

Another thing that will be interesting is how the companion casting plays into the new showrunner. Chibnall will probably want at least one of the main characters to be his own, but the question is whether that's the Doctor, companion, or both. The companion from season 10 might not be the one from season 11. There is precedent for both no companion stories and single episode companions. However, I feel like ratings would drop if we had a full season with no companion. That leaves a few options: 1) new companion in season 10 who stays for 11, 2) new companion in 10 who stays for one season, 3) new companion in 10 with an additional companion added in 11, and 4) bring back an old companion for 10 and don't cast until 11. I think it'd be hilarious to see the Doctor try to keep control over Missy, Jack, and River all at the same time. I also like the idea of adding a second companion into the mix in season 11 as it's been too long since we had a proper TARDIS Team®.

As for the story arc, I feel like anything's possible. They've more or less resolved all the major questions that have been hanging over our heads since Moffat started. Since Chibnall undoubtedly will be doing his own story arc, season 10 will probably be something minor and inconsequential. I hope Moffat doesn't do another story arc centered around the companion like he did with Clara in season 7. Doing the same thing two characters in a row is just lazy writing.

I hope Clara at least cameos in Class. I know Jenna probably wants to move on with her life and do other things, but she should be in at least one scene (even if it's just a flashback). According to IMDB, Jenna doesn't have anything lined up after she finishes filming Victoria, so it's possible she could have a major role. It just depends on when Victoria finishes filming compared to when Class starts. Now if she showed up alongside her wife, Ashildr, and Ian Chesterton, that would be awesome.

Can we get Torchwood in live action again? I mean, I know they have those new Big Finish stories, but give me some television. I don't even need a full season 5, though that would be awesome. Just have the characters show up for a single story in season 10.

Speaking of spin-offs, there's no reason to stop at one. There seems to be lots of fan support (on Tumblr, at least) for a Clashildr spin-off. In case you're confused by the portmanteau, it's about the adventures of space wives Clara and Ashildr flying around spacetime in their retro diner. I also would love an MA-rated show about Jack, Missy, and River living/sleeping together in Missy's TARDIS. Then there's that long-awaited Jenny spin-off.

You know what else comes out in 2017? Star Trek. RTD was totally planning on doing a crossover with Enterprise way back in 2005, but they canceled that show. These shows are some of the most popular sci-fi programs on television, doing a crossover would only help ratings. As long as the story was good, I doubt most of the fans would complain (except for the ones who take any excuse to do so). The only real hurdles would be legal ones.

Another crossover I would love is with Arrow. John Barrowman, Alex Kingston, and Arthur Darvill are all already on that show, so it would make for something interesting story lines. It would have to be done with Arrow taking place in a alternate universe that Jack and River are either stuck or vacationing in. Bonus points if the Doctor doesn't realize he's in a parallel universe for a while/is convinced the TARDIS still can't travel between dimensions.

One things fans have been asking for for ages is more TARDIS interior scenes. So far, we've seen lots of the console room and very little else. This would not be that hard to factor into an episode. They don't even have to do an entire story devoted to it like Journey to the Center of the TARDIS. All it would take is lots of little scenes across the course of the season. We could have things like the Doctor barging into the companion's room at 7am to drag them off on an adventure, the Doctor and companion discussing the day's plans over breakfast in the TARDIS' kitchen, or them just hanging out in the library for whatever reason. Alternately, when they introduce the new companion, they could show the Doctor giving her a tour of the TARDIS. I mean, I imagine he does that with every companion, but we never get to see it.

I think this post may have turned into more of a wishlist than realistic predictions, but oh well, I was going to write one of those anyway.

Why Davros Should Return

I believe that Davros should make an appearance in the next Dalek story. In the previous one, Asylum of the Daleks, Oswin Oswald wiped all the Daleks' memories of the Doctor. It isn't going to take them long to figure out that they don't know why all their plots to take over the universe have failed. They're going to have a lot of questions, and no answers. So what do the Daleks do when they're baffled? They ask their creator for help.

Davros would very quickly remind the Daleks that it was the Doctor who defeated them, only to come to the conclusion that they don't know who he is. Not only that, but the Doctor has deleted himself from every other database in the universe. No one knows who he is. Davros would be mystified, and would proceed to hunt down the Doctor. After that, there would probably be some sort of conversation about the Doctor getting too big and stepping back into the shadows.

However it happens, Davros must be in the next Dalek episode. He's the only source the Daleks would trust when they notice their own flawed history. Also, as a major classic villain (comparable to the Master), he deserves to grace our screens once more.

The Case For a Female Doctor

Here is an argument for why I think there should be a female Doctor.

A female Doctor would make for new possibilities in Doctor-companion relationships. So far, almost every Doctor-companion relationship has been between some centuries-old guy and a young woman or man. With a male Doctor and a younger female companion, it's been this kind old man showing a woman the stars. With a female Doctor, it's sort of two young women going off to see the stars together. You don't have the same type of thing where the young woman is in love with the Doctor and wishing he would notice. It's just two girls cavorting across the universe. Also if the young woman is in love with the male Doctor, then watches him die and turn into a woman, she'd have all sorts of mixed feelings that would make for an interesting relationship at first. Also, if there were a male companion, then he'd probably be attracted to the Doctor, and there would probably be a lot of him trying to impress her, and her not being very impressed/him injuring himself.

It would also be interesting to see a female Doctor, who at first doesn't know how to be female. She would probably being doing things like accidentally going into the men's room, leaning over the table while wearing a low-cut shirt, not knowing how to deal with long hair, wanting to play on a men's sports team and not realizing the problem, kissing River in public and not understanding why people were staring, etc.

A female Doctor would have to face a few new challenges that would make interesting additions to plotlines. Say she's in the Middle Ages or the Enlightenment period, when all the men were rather sexist. None of them would take her seriously or want to follow her directions. Or say, someone hears all about the great and powerful Doctor, then meets her and discovers she's female, and is rather let down. I don't want sexism to become a recurring plot point in almost every episode, but rather something that comes up once or twice a season.

For everyone who says that this isn't in keeping with the character of the Doctor, the show is all about change. They change the actors and actresses, they change the TARDIS, they even change the sonic screwdriver. Everything changes. There's no reason the Doctor's gender can't. It's been stated in both The End of Time, Part 2 and The Doctor's Wife that Time Lords can change gender.

A lot of people have been saying they don't want a female Doctor because Moffat can't write strong women. I beg to differ. Sally Sparrow was pretty kick-ass exploring abandoned buildings for fun and fighting the Weeping Angels. River Song is also very strong and independent. Also, just because Amy & Clara have never had the opportunity to save the world (Moffat hasn't written very many the-entire-Earth-is-in-danger stories) doesn't mean they're not brave and steely-hearted.

Is the Series 5-7 Story Arc Actually Explained?

Short answer: Series 6 & 7 are explained, Series 5 isn't. We finally got an explanation of what's so important about the Doctor's name and how Clara could be in all those places, but no explanation of why the TARDIS exploded.

Since the Doctor's name apparently unlocks his tomb, it appears the Silence didn't want anyone to have access to his timestream. They didn't want anyone to have the ability to go in and alter his life. This would almost make it appear that they are the good guys and didn't want anyone to unsave everyone he'd saved. Another possibility, however, is that the didn't want anyone to know about the Doctor's other regeneration. I don't get the problem with knowing, so there's the possibility he's trapped there and is somehow going to escape. He was the only regeneration who actually interacted with Clara and the Doctor. The others all just ran about completely oblivious to them, he was somehow different.

Clara's mystery did turn out to be precisely what some people predicted. There were a number of theories going about how she was splintered in time (similar to Scaroth in City of Death), however, no one seems to have gotten how she was splintered. She shattered herself across the Doctor's life in order to save him at certain key points. It's interesting how we didn't see her saving the ninth or tenth Doctors at all, I think they're saving footage of them because they're going to be appearing in the 50th anniversary.

Two seasons & three years later, we still haven't received an explanation of how the TARDIS exploded. I think we're being led to believe that the Silence did it, but it's not entirely clear. We've received no motive on their part. If they're trying to kill the Doctor, then they're smart enough to realize the effects of blowing up a TARDIS and should really have been able to realize that he wasn't even onboard. I'm still holding onto the theory that the Time Lords did it to execute the Ultimate Sanction since I haven't seen any evidence to the contrary.

I guess Moffat must be saving his explanation of the TARDIS exploding for the 50th anniversary or Series 8. That may actually be separate story arc that has nothing to do with the Silence or the Question. He may simply have planted it so long ago in an effort to keep us watching so we would sit through Series 6 and 7 before finally finding out what happened. He must surely know from the internet that we don't have the foggiest idea, so he's got to explain it at some point or another.

Things I'd Like to See in Series 7.2/8

Here are some things I'd like to see in the next season and a half

• Captain Jack and the Torchwood team
• The Master
• A Sherlock crossover (could actually happen in Series 3 of that show)
• The Ice Warriors (they'd be good to see with modern special effects)
• K-9
• A meta-reference/breaking the fourth wall
• More story arcs (I for one, actually enjoy them)
• An explanation for why the TARDIS exploded in Series 5
• Doctor/Master scene (straight or lesbian versions only, though)
• An entire episode taking place inside the TARDIS
• The TARDIS kitchen (that is the room I seriously want to see the most)
• Jelly babies (the Doctor discovers his stash that got lost when the TARDIS rearranged itself sometime prior to Series 1)
• Trenzalore (I don't want to wait any longer than Series 8 for this whole story arc to end)
• Clara doesn't fall for the Doctor because she's lesbian (we need a companion who doesn't love the Doctor for that reason) 
• Donna gets her memories back

NOTE: This does not include the 50th Anniversary Special(s)

The Case For a Captain Jack–11th Doctor Episode

So it's been over a year since Captain Jack graced the screens of television in Torchwood: Miracle Day. It's also been almost three years since he last appeared in Doctor Who in The End of Time, Part 2. I think it's about fair time he made a return, and here's why.

During the Moffat era, not one mention or appearance of any RTD era companion has been made in Doctor Who. The only companions who wouldn't need a fair bit of finagling to bring back are Martha and Jack. I really don't want to bring Martha back, seeing as she's rather overused in Doctor Who. After her initial departure, she's been brought back multiple times, and never really did anything. She's kind of a useless character in my opinion. She served no useful purpose in either of her appearances in Series 4. Jack has actually accomplished something in each of his appearances.

Jack would be good when the Master returns. The Master is just about the most cunning villain out there, and Jack has exactly the right type of military training to go up against him. I'd love to see Jack's reaction to the fact that the Master is still alive; I think Jack would just try to outright kill him on the spot. Jack and Clara could go off and deal with one thing, while River and the Doctor could deal with another, and both pairs of characters could just flirt endlessly (I think Jack is actually Clara's dad).

Jack is immortal, I'm sure that someone could make an entire storyline out of an immortal character. I actually like to think that the Silence's first attempt to prevent the Doctor from answering The Question was to kill the person who's asking it. Obviously that person outwitted all their attempts, and the Silence viewed it as easier to kill the Doctor. If they can figure out a way to kill someone with the cunning of the Doctor, I'm sure they could figure out a way of killing anyone. Just not someone who can't be killed at all, like Jack. So therefore, I think it's Jack who's asking The Question.

Moreover, with Torchwood on hiatus for the foreseeable future, this could be our only shot at seeing the character in the next year or so. They might even be able to work in a cameo from Gwen Cooper, but I don't want one episode of Doctor Who substituting in for an entire season of Torchwood. Torchwood still needs to make a return, but in the meantime, John Barrowman should totally team up with Matt Smith for an episode.

Replacement for SJA Featuring Jenny

I know Sarah Jane/Elisabeth Sladen was dear to all of our hearts and no one could ever replace her, but sooner or later the BBC is going to need a new spin-off from Doctor Who. I would like to suggest one featuring Jenny (the Doctor's daughter, not the lame other one). I'm thinking a children's show as a direct replacement for the Sarah Jane Adventures.

The show could be announced immediately after the conclusion of Series 7 of Doctor Who and Season 1 could air in late summer as part of the 50th Anniversary celebrations. Right now, the only Doctor Who spin-off is Torchwood, which is currently dead in the water. They're going to need something new and fresh and exciting, and the end of The Doctor's Daughter just leaves one massive plot hole that needs filling.
Basically, it goes something like this. Jenny traveled back to 2005 Earth with a vortex manipulator she got from "some Stormcage inmate" (River Song) and got a job as a secret agent for Torchwood 1. Using her time traveler's knowledge of history, she managed to escape the Battle of Canary Wharf and the events of Children of Earth. She now lives in a London high-rise apartment with her completely ordinary roommate/lesbian girlfriend. Due to this being a children's show, the romantic involvement is minimized (she tells people she is in a relationship, but never says with whom, and she is strongly implied to be lesbian). She goes around eradicating minor alien invasions in Britain. She also sometimes has to stop humans from attacking aliens who simply crashed and have no understanding of Earth culture and thus did something offensive.

Sometime during season 2, she and her dad finally meet when they go after the same alien. After that episode, she continues, only with her own sonic screwdriver and the Doctor popping in once every now and then. The Doctor can explain to her that the reason she only partially regenerated was because she was only a few hours old. He could explain that regenerative functions don't fully take hold until age 3 or so.

She runs a website where people can report alien sightings and view advice on what to do in the event of an alien encounter. She makes money from the advertising revenue from that blog (plus her former massive Torchwood salary). This is also sometimes where she finds out about the alien for that episode.

I really hope someone from the BBC reads this, because this is one of my more serious proposals and could actually be made into a successful show. If they want the 50th Anniversary to be massive, I can see no better way than bringing back a Time Lady and giving her her own show.