Awkward!

I love Awkward. I think it's one of the funniest teenage comedies out there right now. Which is surprising, considering MTV's track record of airing absolute mind-numbingly moronic crap on their channel. But they really did hit the jackpot with the tales of Jenna Hamilton and her awesomely weird friends and family. 

However. 

It's 2013, and we still see so much sexism on television- most of it aimed at women. Joss Whedon has done a lot to combat that, as have many other writers, but it still exists on a large scale. What doesn't exist on as large a scale is sexism aimed at men. Which is why the eighth episode of the currently airing season of Awkward. had me gaping at my computer screen in consternation. 

Forced by her English teacher to read one of her pieces at an open mic night, Jenna begs Matty not to come because she doesn't want him to see her make a fool of herself. When she adds that, "We don't need to do everything together," Matty gets defensive. "Are you implying that I need to do everything together?" he asks, and in the next breath says that he and Jake already had plans. 

The two boys end up spending an evening together, hanging out and barbecuing. And also committing acts of complete idiocy. Apparently two male friends who are in relationships can't spend more than one minute away from their phones in case they get a text or a call from their girlfriend. They also can't spend an evening doing anything intelligent or productive. No, of course not. Boys who are left to their own devices will end up doing ridiculously stupid things, like eating a dirty steak or an entire onion, drinking half a bottle of hot sauce, shoving dry powdered cinnamon in their mouths, and painting their nails and shaving their legs (because that's something a man could never normally do, oh no, no homo.)

I was laughing at the beginning of the dares, but I was cringing and covering my eyes by the end. Is this what the writers of Awkward. think? That, left to their own devices, females will attend an intelligent night of literary fun and males will make complete asses of themselves? 

I love this show, but this episode left me with a horrible aftertaste. And no, it wasn't dirty steak.

"I don't want to go."

It's been no secret that for the past few months, I've become more and more disenchanted with Doctor Who. It's even come to the point where I criticize and rail at Steven Moffat in anger publicly. Although I do not, and would not ever, spout hate, complaining about Moffat is something I promised myself I would never do after the threats and hate that were sent his way last year. It's also now come to the point where I can't stand the fandom- a fandom that is made up of newbies (many of whom have only seen the Matt Smith years), a fandom that is made up of Americans who enjoy bad writing and twists at every turn, a fandom that every New Whovian I know has left. 

I could probably be called a hypocrite, considering that I've never watched a single episode of Classic Who. I'm okay with that, although I disagree. I've read up on Classic Who, and I know that it was a completely different show than the reboot that Russell T. Davies brought to life in 2005. And please don't give me the nonsense that idiots have spouted to me before about Moffat's Who also being a reboot- just because Moffat does not understand the concept of continuity does not mean that the first Matt Smith season is a reboot. In the Whoniverse, a new Doctor and a new season does not equal a reboot. 

I think everyone can agree that this past season of Doctor Who was terrible, and it got even worse when Clara was introduced. She is substance-less, a character who, by the very definition of her mystery, means nothing to us because we have no idea who she is. At least we knew who Amy and Rory were (and at least Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill had chemistry with Matt Smith). Jenna Louise Coleman seems like a very sweet woman in her videos with Matt, but her acting is so boring it makes me want to gouge my eyes out for entertainment (I'm looking at you, fellow Following fans). Unfortunately, the numbers agree with me: since the 2012 Christmas episode "The Snowmen," Doctor Who viewership has fallen by almost 2.5 million viewers. 

I watch a lot of TV, but there are only a few actual fandoms that I belong to- I'm a Whedonite (basically anything Joss Whedon does, including his tweets about being sick), a Whovian (Doctor Who), and a Hunter (Supernatural). As you can tell, I belong to fandoms of smart, quick, witty shows with mythology and depth. So when I say that I am leaving the Whovian fandom, I don't say it easily. It fills me with sadness, because this used to be a good show with a solid fandom. I have made friends- good friends, the best of friends, both in real life and online- because of this show and the intellectual, literary discussions we've had about it. 

The reason I'm so upset about giving up Doctor Who is because the show is so smart, and so are its fans. This isn't Pretty Little Liars or Revenge- both shows that I've stopped watching this season. I stopped watching Pretty Little Liars because its stupidity eventually unsuspended my disbelief when Aria didn't call the police after Malcolm was kidnapped, instead choosing to try and find him herself. When that happened, I shut the video player and instantly deleted the whole show from my computer. I gave up Revenge because I may have skipped 4th grade, I may have graduated as valedictorian from high school, and I may have graduated from university with honors, but even I couldn't keep up with the convoluted plot without writing notes, and that was just not something I was willing to do for a guilty-pleasure, soapy show.

Who knows? Maybe I'll start watching Classic Who if I actually am forced to stop watching New Who after Eleven regenerates (which is what I'm predicting- Moffat's horrible showrunning is currently worth it because of Matt's acting, but after Matt leaves, I'm pretty sure it won't be worth it anymore). I do know that I will always be a Whovian, and Ten will always be my Doctor. And one day, when Steven Moffat leaves and a better showrunner takes his place, I hope to come back to the Doctor Who fandom.