I've just watched The Invisible Enemy for the first time. This is the story that added K-9 to Doctor Who and the tin dog comes across really well in his debut. The plot is as nonsensical as every review I've ever read says it is. There are some good ideas in there, Leela is great, the design and effects work - with the exception of the infamous prawn - are excellent. But the plot is all over the place and the technobabble is unconvincing not so much because a lack of basic science as a lack of basic common sense.

So next DVD to watch will be K-9 and Company for the first time since 1981...

1 This isn't as daft as it seems. After all what else explains the popularity of Iris Wildthyme? Apart from the gin of course.

Just 10 days to go!

I've just updated the Dinosaurs in Miniature pages with the latest releases and re-releases.

Wargames Illustrated have finished re-releasing the DZ Miniatures prehistoric mammals. They're also selling a set of rules called Tooth and Claw to tie in with this range. Written by Chris "every other set of rules out there" Peers who has pedigree on this area with Saurian Safari. My copy is in the post, so with luck I'll be able to post a review soon.

There are also new rules out from Magister Militum called DinoMight and MM continue to expand their range of 10mm figures, now including some non-dinosaurs.

Finally on the pre-historic front Reaper have released a "Jungle Girl with Sabre Tooth Tiger" which is okay-ish except for the huge mold line in the photo and the fact that it's an idea that's been done several times before. Very nice cat though.

Meanwhile... It was only a matter of time... Pre-painted, collectible (i.e. random sealed boxes) miniatures for Doctor Who (via Forbidden Planet). They're by Character Options which is a good sign (they make the very nice DW action figures) and the price is the same as for the Star Wars minis. On the downside (apart from the collectible nature) is the scale, 35mm, and the lack of anything from the classic series. Will I be buying them? They're Doctor Who miniatures!

I was tagged by Jack on the grounds that I've "not done a meme for a while".

Total Number of Books Owned

According to my LibrayThing profile, 858. I know I have at least one more to add to that list and I'd also need to subtract the 27 tagged as !borrowed or !sold. So 832. Minimum, as there may be more hiding somewhere that I haven't added yet.

Last Book Bought

A couple of out of print role playing games from eBay. Last 'real' book would appear to be Clarissa Oakes by Patrick O'Brian which I found in a bookshop in Amsterdam and made Lettice buy because I'd only just bought something else there and the shop assistant was a bit on the scary side.

Last Book Read

I finished re-reading Human Nature this morning. I've been wanting to refresh my memory since the TV version came out. The book is bloodier and does a better job of creating the historical context. However it does have a number of elements that are really superfluous and which the TV version correctly ignored.

Five books that mean a lot to me

In reverse chronological order in my life:

1. Life by Richard Fortey

   I bought this whilst on holiday in Tennessee visiting gleet and littlebun so it reminds me of a great time as well as being a great book. Fortey takes a look at the history of life on Earth from the moment if started to the dawn of human history. Richard Dawkins did the same trip backwards in The Ancestor's Tale but for me Fortey's book is more engaging.

2. Ships of the Star Fleet, Volume One

   Very, very geeky. But as well as being one of the best Treknical fandom works ever it's also the first book I bought online.

3. Thieves' World

   I could have listed several works of fantasy or science fiction that I read during my adolesence - The Lord of the Rings, Dune, the Pern novels and The Colour of Magic prime amongst them, but this collection of low fantasy stories set in a seedy city at the arse end of an empire is the one that stuck in my mind the most.

4. The Warlock of Firetop Mountain

   I was the pefect age for this when it was first published. And from this book sprung my interest in RPGs and wargames. It has a lot to answer for.
5. 

   Read About Me and the Yellow-Eyed Monster

   A childhood treat - a book with me and my family and my friends in it.

Four People You're Tagging With This Meme

• Chris at The Virtual Stoa
• gleet
• pink_weasel
• Tony and his Random Thoughts