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Gareth David Lloyd narrates The Sin Eaters, a Torchwood audiobook. You can hear it on you tube and see if you agree with me.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET3dhsP1eig

Christopher Lee is my #1 for voices, which is why I was so made up he got to be Saruman. Hmmm others... Vincent Price Richard Burton and Gareth David Lloyd (Ianto Jones). Now the funny thing with GDL is that his 'normal' speaking voice doesn't really do anything for me, but he has an absolutely gorgeous voice when he's narrating - I would quite happily listen to him read the phone book.

Irene will always be my favourite antagonist. No competition. Moriarty will just have to take second place, even if he is the villainous glue throughout the whole series, which I'm sure would please Irene very much! For my #3 I did consider Frankland as I find his role as the friend who really isn't quite fascinating, but Jeff the cabbie for sheer uncomfortableness has to win - the villain who could be anywhere, unseen...

I can't find the whole episode, but there is a mix of scenes in this fanvid - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvmJTHNNIx0 Angelo's 1 - Angelo's 2 - and the cabbie scene part 1 is here -

Catch the series 2 episode The Man Who Smiled and you also get Rupert Graves and Tom Hiddleston - both good reasons to watch it!

I'll agree with this! I have a fairly 2 specific 'types' that I find attractive (think Colin Morgan and Katie McGrath from Merlin and also Peter Wingfield - dark hair, cheekbones, fair skin and not-brown eyes - and red-headed kick-arse women such as Dana Scully and Black Widow from the Avengers movies). Rupert Graves as Lestrade doesn't fit in with either of those types and yet I found something incredibly compelling about him that makes me go wibble, much more so than BC as Sherlock, who ticks more of my 'type' boxes. I have since been attempting to catch up on some of the rest of Rupert Graves career, and while I think he's a marvellous actor it's definitely Lestrade who I fancy the pants off (and Prentice from Different for Girls, but that's probably got a lot to do with the motorbike and leather). Irene Adler is another character I find absolutely fascinating and I find her deviousness both terrifying and delicious. As for John Watson/Martin Freeman - I don't find John or Martin ping my 'I find this person attractive' buttons in the slightest but I adore John as a character and more often than not, he is my muse if I'm writing. If John Watson asked me out, I'd say yes even if I didn't fancy his looks (though he has nice eyes) because I like HIM and his personality.

Poirot is also flawed in his own way - he's a tad OCD and something of an over zealous perfectionist. Having said that, that eye for little details (as with Holmes) is what makes him such a good detective. David Suchet, the actor who has played Poirot for 24 years, said in an interview that he wouldn't want to have to share a house with him!

I have no words for how happy The Night of the Doctor made me. Talk about flaily squee!

Gaaahh! How do you think Doctor Who fans felt during the great hiatus?

murder

For me as a crossover writer, I like to see if I can make things believable. Sherlock and the Dresden Files isn't something that should work, but it does in my brain and going by the feedback I've received so far I've managed to make it believable for others. I have an enormous tendency to think "what if" about things, and then see if I can make them work in my own head at least. To a degree it is easier to use characters people already know as you can take short cuts on certain things (physical description for one). One writer I know said she really only used the characters as a physical template so everyone knew what her characters looked like without having to create them from scratch. Others, like myself, seem to enjoy stretching the realms of possibility. I do read (and have written) explicit Sherlock fic but I have to admit I only really enjoy fics where the characters are acting in-character, even if it's an AU where Sherlock isn't a consulting detective (this is possible, honest). I hate character assassination whether it be by fanfic writers or canon writers.

Welsh Marches

Amen! This is probably my #1 bugbear with certain aspects of fandom. It was ridiculously apparent in Torchwood fandom: some people were so disappointed that Gareth David Lloyd was absolutely nothing like Ianto Jones and they seemed to feel that they owned him, making his life just a tad difficult at times. I have to admit I am probably part of the freckle counting brigade, but that's because I have a thing about freckles... Another thing I really don't like in fic terms is Real Person fic/Real Person slash. THAT feel like a major invasion of privacy to me - it's one thing making the characters do things (sometimes to each other) that they wouldn't do on screen but it's something else entirely to write a fantasy about the actors doing the same sort of things.

Thieves

Hi people, not been around much (places to go people to see) but this has become a very interesting discussion. I have a few things to add. Shipping and slash: I think some of the motivation to 'ship' male characters together is the desire for something more risqué, an alternative to the norm if you like, as many fans don't relate to the standard norm in many things and also as a reflection of the true diversity of attraction. Of course a huge chunk of it is just because some people like the idea of 2 attractive men together. Some of it is down to on screen chemistry and all - In Star Trek: Voyager one canon romance was between Paris and Torres, but the chemistry between them was quite flat and insipid at times and they kind of crucified Torres' character to make her fit in with the perceived 'ideal' whereas Tom Paris's relationship with Harry Kim was obviously massively important to them both, right from the get go, whether you chose to see it as just a deep friendship (as intended) or wanted to read something else into it. Sherlock has that ambiguity - obviously John and Sherlock are important to each other, almost opposite sides of the same coin, but for those who want to read more into that relationship, it isn't a huge step to take. I dabble on both sides of the equation. Too true, even if you ARE a shipper, I don't see any reason to deprive a character of their own name in order to turn them into some insipid reflection of themselves that only exists in relation to the other person... Overall, I think less is more. It's better to leave things to the imagination rather than have them shoved in our faces - it's more fun that way. As for using other literary descriptions for friendships, I like that. I'm a big Darkover fan so it made me smile to see someone using Breda/Bredu. More recently, and something that 2 of my friends use, is the term Parabatai from the Cassandra Clare novels. According to the Shadowhunter wiki Parabatai is a pair of Nephilim warriors who fight together and are closer than siblings, regardless of their gender. They are partners who would lay down their life for the other. Shadowhunters are also forbidden from falling in love with their parabatai (which fits my 2 friends as they are both asexual). There is also an Irish term Anam Cara which literally means "soul friend" though it is often interpreted as "soul mate" which I think devalues it somewhat. Taken as it was originally meant, an Anam Cara can be anyone; blood relative, lover, spiritual guide - all that is required is a deep connection with another person and that doesn't have to be physical. - from Anam Cara by John O'Donohue. Don't you think that fits Sherlock and John?

Orleans

She's not around on here so much any more (been consumed by Tumblr, twitter and other shows) but I go to a lot of cons with my fried EvigMidnat - then she usually gets abandoned to talk to her friends as I run around catching up with the million or so people I know.

Give a shout out on here - I go to a fair few cons and admins Tim and Banshee have been known to attend the odd one and all. I'm always happy to meet people I know from online - I met Carol and Alex in May when they were over in Liverpool and a Sherlock friend I know from LJ, and with whom I wrote a fic, in August on a flying trip to London. It's been a habit of mine for years - I went to my first Discworld con on my own, but was sharing a room with an online friend and meeting up with others.

We spent 4 days in Athens. We also went to Mycenae, Delphi, Olympia, Sparta, Marathon and even drove around Mount Olympus! We had 3 weeks, but we could have done with a lot more.

Yup, all in the UK. I don't do cons abroad as I can't afford it. My very first convention was in 1998 and I went with a friend. My second, a couple of months later, I went on my own and met up with people I knew from online or from having met them at the first con. OK online might be stretching it a little - it was usenet - but I still 'knew' them anyway. http://www.starfury.co.uk/ http://www.rogueevent.co.uk/ http://www.walescomiccon.com/ http://showmastersonline.com/

When I was a kid, we learned to read using scheme books - which I didn't finish because I found them boring. When my teacher asked me what I would choose if I could read anything I wanted, I picked up a book of Greek mythology for more 'advanced' kids. She left me to it... I'm a bit of a Grecophile - I toured 'classical' Greece some years back on my honeymoon, still the best holiday ever.

coins

I have recently been given my first Cassandra Clare book, but I haven't read it yet. I also have a fair number of David Eddings books, including the ones you mentioned and all the Harry Potter novels. Currently I'm reading the Inkheart books by Cornelia Funke, which were picked out for me by my niece!

I forgot to put Lost Girl on my list. Also recently started watching Atlantis and Agents of Shield, so far I'm enjoying them both.

I have Vampire Ball 4 coming up soon, which is another 3 day convention run by Starfury. I also did the Asylum convention (Supernatural) in May which is run by Rogue. Next year I have Discworld con, Miracle Day (a Starfury Torchwood con) and possibly Asylum again in May. Starfury are also trying to get a Sherlock Holmes (all versions) convention off the ground - was originally supposed to be in December, but I think they've rescheduled for February now. I also make a point of trying to go to my local convention - Wales Comic con - in Wrexham, they've had some good guests as I've met both Eoin Macken and Tony Head at WCC (amongst other guests). IMO the residential 2 or 3 day conventions are much better than the likes of the comic cons or expos, mostly due to a more intimate and friendly atmosphere, even if you don't have the sheer numbers of guests. I also go to Whitby Goth Weekend once a year (twice if I can afford it, which I haven't been able to the last 2 years - conventions are expensive hobbies) and that is happening in less than 2 weeks.