Reliving The Magic: The Order of the Phoenix

“You should write a book," Ron told Hermione as he cut up his potatoes, "translating mad things girls do so boys can understand them.” 

-

Ron Weasley

The Order of the Phoenix

It's that time again, dear reader.

Yes, indeed, the time has come for me to sit you down and rant at you about what I love about 'Harry Potter
& The Order of the Phoenix'.

Now, as a younger man I believe I read the first few chapters of this particular instalment of the Potter saga before falling off the bandwagon and losing interest completely.

However, while back then, I had little time for the politics and exposition of the story, in my older, wiser and more enlightened mindset of the present day, I found this wonderful use of narrative description and pre-existing wizard lore to be an ingenious addition to wizarding world of Harry Potter.

Dolores Umbridge.

Indeed, some of my favourite moments throughout the story involve the Ministry of Magic. When I tried to read TOOTP before, however, I found these segments deathly dull and just wanted to get back to some good old fashioned wand-craft.

Of course, always present, when dealing with the Ministry, is the (previously) fatherly Cornelius Fudge. In past instalments, I adored Fudge and found him to be on par with Dumbledore for sheer grand-fatherly appeal. Unfortunately, the pressures of his job and his inability to believe our dear friend Albus lead Fudge to become a nasty, conniving politician much more in line with his usual muggle counterparts.

In fact, it is this constant sparring with Dumbledore which gives the book most of its' drive and creates a real frisson of energy. The jealousy Fudge feels towards Dumbledore's (clearly) greater power as a wizard only adds to the conflict and causes the Minister to make some seriously boneheaded decisions.

We're also introduced to one of the most hated literary figures of all time, the jobs-worth, self-righteous Dolores Umbridge. What a bitch. (There isn't much more I can say, in all honesty.)

The original 'Order of the Phoenix'.

Of course, on top of all of this, we have the titular 'Order'. Within this, we see some of my absolute favourite
characters from the previous Potter books, while also adding a couple of new ones, giving us a real insight into the workings of the world outside of Hogwarts. The inclusion of Sirius Black's boyhood home as the headquarters is deliriously gratifying and creates some of the most heart-warming (and eventually heartbreaking) details within the entire Potter story.

Rowling's mastery of pace, however, is what really sets this instalment apart from all previous outings for the gang. Who can forget that exciting, edge-of-your-seat battle within the Ministry of Magic wherein we see the Order facing down a horde of Death Eaters. Including, of course, the nefarious Bellatrix Lestrange.

Bellatrix Lestrange.

It is, of course, Lestrange which leads to one of the most poignant moments in the book. I won't discuss it in detail here, for those of you who may have yet to read it, but I can honestly say I felt incredible choked up come the shocking conclusion of that particular battle!

Having finally reached the end of this book after giving up on it all those years ago, I can honestly say I was thrilled with every single element of it. Rowling has this incredible knack for believable detail in a world where things seem ultimately impossible, and that is no mean feat.

Until next time.

Peter Capaldi is the Twelfth Doctor!

Well, well, well.

Capaldi has just been announced as the 12th Doctor.

Look at all this excitement.

I've just watched 'Doctor Who Live' on BBC1 wherein the next actor to play the iconic role of the Doctor was announced. You can view the episode by clicking here.

Now, I wish I could say it was me. Or that I at least auditioned, but unfortunately those would both be lies.

Awesome lies.

But lies nonetheless.

What I can tell you is that I wanted to make a drink to enjoy while I watched but I was so excited that my hands were trembling and thus, spillage was sure to occur. Thus, I abandoned all hopes of ingesting a tasty beverage and watched in parched silence.

After all the exposition behind the Doctor and regeneration (as though those watching weren't huge nerds, unaware of what was going on) we were finally treated to a brief interview with the man himself. Yes, as the title suggest, Peter Capaldi was announced to be the next Doc on the block.

Left to right: Tennant as the 10th, Smith as the 11 and
Eccleston as the 9th incarnations of the iconic role.

I for one, am thrilled that such a wonderfully talented actor has been given such a fantastic opportunity. Not only that, I'm chuffed to bits that an older actor is gracing the role again after the young David Tennant and younger Matt Smith both played the role with aplomb.

Indeed, I can't help but imagine Capaldi's iteration of the iconic Time Lord to be something akin to the dark gravitas awarded to it by the wonderful Christopher Eccleston. The very fact that we now have an actor which would seem tailored to play a darker more mature Doctor (both in physical appearance and in spiritual maturity) would lead me to believe that, teamed with Moffat's darker writing, we may be in for an altogether more grown up version of Who.

Now, some fans may worry that this will upset or alienate younger viewers, and that may the case in very small minorities, but we must remember one important thing:

Doctor Who is meant to be scary.

And not only that, children like to be scared.

*****

Anyway, I can't help but feel that with Capaldi at the helm, we're in for some very interesting stories and an
overall edgier take on our favourite Time Lord.

A wonderful choice, kudos to all those involved.

And to Mr Capaldi, I can only say good luck and enjoy yourself.

I'm sure you'll be fantastic, absolutely fantastic.

Until next time, gang.