Author: Eugene Glover

Standard disclaimer: Don’t read if you don’t want to know.

The second “real” episode of David Tennant’s Doctor Who broadcast on the BBC today. This story, Tooth and Claw, like New Earth last week was written by the new series’ mastermind, Russell T. Davies.

The story starts with a well-nigh improbable sequence of bald Scottish warrior monks practicing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon style Kung Fu and taking over that we later learn is the Torchwood Estate. While this plot device is necessary to advance this particular script, I couldn’t help immediately feeling like it had been thrown in because either the director/cinematographer wanted to try his hand at Kung Fu, or because they thought it would really grab people’s attention in the series two previews. The shots of the monks, in their bright red robes, suspended in a mid air attack has played heavily in the previews.

Meanwhile the Doctor decides to take Rose to 1979 for a concert. Ever the lefty, Davies manages to waste a line of dialog just to take a needless shot at Margaret Thatcher. Nobody could say that man doesn’t have an axe to grind. True to form, the TARDIS deposits them in Scotland in 1879, right in front of Queen Victoria’s royal carriage. The Doctor presents himself as Doctor James McCrimmon (Who fans will recognize the name Jamie McCrimmon as the second Doctor’s long-time Scottish companion) and talks his way out of the bind he’s in.

Let me digress here for a moment and speak on the subject of Mr. Davies. Undeniably, this man is a fan, and he’s clearly been at the point of creating and helming this successful revival of Doctor Who. Despite that, his scripts are consistently some of the weakest. Often logic is taken out back and shot dead. The viewer may not notice it because it flies by so quicky.

Case and point, the TARDIS lands, the Doctor and Rose get up off the floor (get your minds out of the gutter) walk to the door and step outside. They are already surrounded by the Queens bodyguards, and the Queen’s carriage stands waiting. With his psychic paper, the Doctor talks his way out of it, but no mention whatsoever is made that these people must have either been sitting there when the TARDIS materialized out of thin air or stopped by its appearance right in front of them. Personally, I think if a strange, noisy blue box materialized in the middle of the wilderness near me, I’d at least expect people to talk about it. That; however, would bog down the story considerably, and with the new series format being a paltry 45 minutes (because kids are apparently too impatient or too stupid to sit through a full two-hour story in 4 parts) things often need to move at a remarkable clip to get to the end.

The plot involves these nasty monks who’ve been harboring an alien werewolf (the real deal) and just waiting for the opportunity to trap the Queen at Torchwood on a full moon night so that the Queen can become a werewolf and rule the planet. The rest of the episode mostly comprises the werewolf chasing people and ripping them to pieces. Some of the secondary characters get to prove their mettle through heroics and ingenuity and once again, the Doctor does save the day by reasoning out the trap that’s been laid.

The story is also laying the foundation for the upcoming Torchwood series this fall. One could almost say this episode was clubbing us over the head with it and setting up either a Doctor Who or Torchwood sequel. I only hope that Torchwood references don’t become this year’s bad wolf.

Despite these criticisms, the episode was fun to watch. Tennant’s portrayal is really a solid, classic-style Doctor. He’s got that quirky factor that Eccelston never did. The episode was fast-paced and may not be suitable for children. For the first time, my daughter watched the episode and covered her eyes. We’ll see what tonight brings.

Next week Sarah Jane Smith returns in what promises to be more than a bit of soul-searching for Rose as she’s bound to realize that the end of her time with the Doctor is an inevitability and that someday she’ll have to go back to a normal life and the Doctor will continue on without her and with someone new. (Oh, and K9 will be back. how exciting.)

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Kraft Mac and Cheese has been a favorite of mine for years, and a few years ago when they introduced Easy Mac, I was thrilled. How could I not be? The ability to have a single serving of mac and cheese anytime I wanted as long as there is a nearby microwave, what more could one want?

Of course, that’s not really the case. Easy Mac isn’t quite as good as the regular boxed variety, and you still need to have a bowl and muck around with measuring water. Not difficult tasks to be sure, but it does make it more problematic for taking to the office. Who wants to wash bowls at the office or keep a measuring cup for the water? And so, Easy Mac has remained a home snack.

Imagine my delight when I recently saw that Kraft had released Easy Mac in a self-contained bowl!

The new packaging comes in a styrofoam insulated plastic cup with a marked inner line for the water level. So much for eliminating the bowl and the water measuring! Inside is a (small) portion of macaroni and a cheese sauce packet. Like ordinary Easy Mac, the process is simple: Add water, Microwave, add cheese sauce, stir.

Unlike ordinary Easy Mac, there’s something else in the mix: a strange white powder mixed in with the macaroni. The packaging indicates that the powder is normal and is necessary for proper cooking of the macaroni. Why? No such powder is needed for regular Easy Mac.

I cannot deny, this is the easiest yet of the Easy Mac.

But here’s the $64 question: How does it taste?

Answer: Odd.

With the first bite, I knew something was amiss. There’s an odd chemical, almost plastic flavor to the finished product. Is it the bowl? Is it the mysterious white powder? I cannot say, but it is not as good as the real product.

The new Easy Mac comes in two “flavors”: original and triple cheese. My first taste trial was with original. On my second attempt I tried triple cheese and felt that this was much more like the traditional Easy Mac in flavor. In fact, I could barely taste the plastic at all. Thinking that it might be a taste bud variation from one day to the next, I immediately proceeded to prepare a second original flavor cup to compare. Once again, the plastic flavor was quite strong. Apparently “triple” cheese is needed to overcome the plastic. (You might as well prepare two, these bowls are even smaller than an old-style Easy Mac serving!)

Conclusion: Good to have around the office, stick with the triple cheese. You’re still ingesting some plastic residue of some kind, but at least the flavor is masked.

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