Things I Miss from Doctor Who’s Classic Era

On By Charlie BrooksIn FilmLeave a comment

As of 2026, Doctor Who is going through a bit of a tough stretch. For the first time since the show came back in 2005, fans don’t have a new season to look forward to. While 2026 promises a holiday special that will hopefully explain why Billie Piper showed up on the TARDIS, there have been no announcements of a new Doctor or even a hint of the series continuing in 2027 and beyond.

But the show’s been off the air before, and hope will always spring eternal that it regenerates again in the future. And while fans wait anxiously for news of the TARDIS’ next voyage, I can’t help but glance backward at the last time the series went off the air. Classic Doctor Who might be known mostly for its low budget effects and outlandish costumes, but it has many elements that I enjoyed and which I would love to see come back in the modern era.

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My Brain Hates the Idea of Giving My Kids a Tablet

On By Charlie BrooksIn ParentingLeave a comment

Originally published on BabyCenter.com December 2, 2015

Sooner or later, technology leaves us all feeling old. As my wife and I browse through Christmas gift ideas, the number of new gadgets out there is making me wistful for the days of Tandy Computers and the Sega Genesis. Now we’re faced with a new question: are our kids old enough for a tablet?

My gut says no, but the more I think about it, the less I have an actual argument beyond pure geezer instinct. I myself didn’t have any sort of real computer until I was in my senior year of high school, and that fact is probably the number one reason I said “No” at first.

This is definitely a first world problem. It’s also a case where I don’t feel like I’m doing harm if I just say “No” to giving my kids a portable screen to carry around. But the more I look into the subject, the more it becomes that my objections are more emotional than logical.

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The Future is Weird: Cyberpunk 2020’s Chromebook

On By Charlie BrooksIn Role-Playing GamesLeave a comment

Originally published on Sidekickcast.com December 1, 2015

I’ve spent a lot of time detailing fantasy RPG weirdness because that’s the genre I’m most familiar with. However, strange stuff in gaming isn’t relegated solely to D&D and Pathfinder. For example, there’s the Cyberpunk 2020 Chromebooks.

The Chromebooks were a group of four sourcebooks that detailed all sorts of new gear for use in a Cyberpunk 2020 game. In many ways, they were brilliant – they were written like real product catalogs, so every entry gave you not only something useful for the game but also a feel for the corporate-dominated setting. At the same time, these things did introduce plenty of stuff that is either hilariously weird or amusing in hindsight (remember that these things were written in the early 1990s without the benefit of a crystal ball to show what they year 2020 would really be like).

This time around, I’m going to focus on the original Chromebook. With new weapons, cybernetics, vehicles, and more, there’s a lot of interesting stuff in this 96-page accessory…and a lot of other stuff that reminds me that the future is pretty funny.

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5 Things I Learned as a New Hockey Dad

On By Charlie BrooksIn ParentingLeave a comment

Originally published on BabyCenter.com November 5, 2015

Hockey season has begun, and our son has taken to the ice for the first time. By default, he’s already better on skates than I am, since he’s able to move about ten feet before falling down. This season’s all about learning to skate, which means all the hitting and actual competition can wait.

Hockey is a realm where I have very little experience. I’m a big football fan, and I played soccer, basketball, and baseball at an intramural level in school. But hockey is an area where I’m only passingly familiar with the rules and the idea of hitting a puck around the ice is foreign to me.

Since this is such a new experience for me, and since this is only my second time dealing with the sports-dad scene, I’m learning quite a bit. Here are a few of the basic discoveries I’ve come across so far:

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Are Boys and Girls Really That Different at Sports?

On By Charlie BrooksIn ParentingLeave a comment

Originally published on BabyCenter.com September 23, 2015

I seem to have fallen over backwards into helping as a coach with my son’s soccer team. As it turns out, you only have to express an interest (or maybe, as in my case, have a brother-in-law who is also coaching) to do this. It’s quite fun, but really weird when parents say, “Hi, Coach.”

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The Important Thing Comics Taught Me About Kids

On By Charlie BrooksIn Comics, ParentingLeave a comment

Originally published on BabyCenter.com October 8, 2015

Superhero comics are a big part of my life, and it seems I’ve handed that down to my kids as well. Reading a comic book every night as part of the bedtime routine has certainly helped. One problem with mainstream comics, though, is that they’re quite often very sexist.

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Batman versus the Blues Brothers: What Makes a Good Sequel?

On By Charlie BrooksIn Greystone Valley, NovelsLeave a comment

Writing Conquest of Greystone Valley meant asking a bit of an uncomfortable question: how often does a sequel actually live up to the original?

Novels seem to have a higher success rate than films, but both media have challenges when writing a follow-up story. At their hearts, both film and literature are storytelling media that have many similarities. In thinking about what I wanted in Conquest, my mind continually gravitated to the best and worst movie sequels I could think of – specifically, The Dark Knight and Blues Brothers 2000.

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Gaming Stories: Dancing Half-Fiends and the Glory of Infinite Choices

On By Charlie BrooksIn Role-Playing GamesLeave a comment

Originally published on Sicdekickcast.com November 17, 2015

Easily my favorite part of tabletop RPGs is the fact that they have so much latitude and room for player agency. No matter how robust a computer game is, there are always a finite number of choices. Because tabletop RPGs rely on human adjudication, the possibilities are limitless…like that time the PCs in one of my games inspired a pair of half-fiends to become vaudeville stars.

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