DW ep 2 and Torchwood fic recs

This week I was attempting to watch Doctor Who on the grandparents' TV. I was nicely set up with a hot ribena and some backstory about to be explained onscreen, when some dude arrived to fix a problem with errant scart cables. He burrowed around the back of the TV for about 10 minutes, during which unsurprisingly the screen went black, before deciding he couldn't actually do anything just yet and swanning off just in time for me to catch the run-up to the final show-down.

Thus, I'm not actually sure what happened, I'll have to catch a repeat, but it looked good. Although, well, grief really can make us quite cold creatures, can't it? There were occasions when I wanted to give the Doctor a light cuff round the head because poor Martha. Still, in the long run she'll definitely be good for him, and I'm looking forward to seeing them bond properly.

In other news, Torchwood is apparently due back in January 2008. So yes, it's officially next year before I get to appreciate Ianto in a suit or, fingers crossed, jeans and a hoodie. And if fandom continues to produce such gems as I'm about to rec, the wait should be tolerable :)

Oh My Sweetness by jwaneeta
A warming if bittersweet tale that reminds one of the true meaning of Easter. Oh yes. I defy the cockles of your heart not to be warmed by the trials and tribulations of Peep!Ianto and Chocolate Bunny!Jack. Yes, this is AU crack!fic of the highest calibre. And if you are not moved to buy up and save the left-over Easter sweets languishing in the shops from tomorrow then you have no soul *sniff*

Snowdon by rivier
This is one of those fics where you realise what the writers were probably trying to achieve when they came up with the idea of Owen. Because here Owen is sarcastic, foul mouthed, funny and somehow charismatic as he attempts to hold Torchwood 3 together post the events of End of Days. In typical, compassionate Owen style, the doc has a bet with himself over which of the team is going to go off the rails first, and he's looking forward to being proved right. Except that it's not just smug satisfaction, Owen is shown as genuinely keeping an eye on everyone, and also trying to cope himself with all that has happened because of and to him these past few months. All round, great fic. Spot-on characterisations, angst without being overly emotional or cliched, and of course there are lovely moments of great humour.

He was a beautiful boy

Hmm, so, Richard Armitage.

Right, so I remember when the first ads of Robin Hood appeared. I wasn't particularly impressed, except for the one where they first introduced Guy of Gisborne because, well, evil pretty dude in black leather. There is never going to be anything particularly wrong with that. Admittedly I still have only seen most of one ep, however the scenes I remember are Guy's.

I next saw Richard Armitage in The Vicar of Dibley Christmas/New Year specials. By which point he had sort of rubbed off on me from the FL as a kind of fandom crush. Peer pressure is a terrible thing.

Progress to today and you have me settling down to watch George Gently purely on the basis that it has Richard Armitage in biking leathers. And who accuses me of being hard to please.

Incidentally, George Gently was actually rather good. The dude playing Gently's side-kick was deliciously smarmy. The gangster was suitably cold and a nasty piece of work. And whilst Armitage wasn't really in it that much, he did play a gay motorbike leader who started off the whole drama in his leathers up to his thighs in the white-tipped sea waves. Good stuff.