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Dec. 13th, 2009 09:58 pmIt should be easier telling his son that Doc is alive, not dead. It's certainly not as heavy. It could however be described as conceptually challenging.
He waits for the toddler to stop watching TV first. It's been a difficult week for Alex; on Monday the childrens' TV channel decided to move Pingu to after The NeeNaws and he's still getting used to the transition. Guppy cannot help but approve of the new schedule though; in his view a cartoon that teaches children how to call the emergency services is more educational than one without a single human word in.
The Neenaws portrays far less traumatic accidents than he remembers from A+E. Mr Singh the Solicitor seems to have fallen down a hole today, leading to the sequence mid-cartoon of how to call the emergency services (999, which service required, who you are, where you are and what happened). And then a rousing shout of 'Its time for...', to which Alex joins in with a yell of "tuh Neenaws!", before Faezeh the Fire Engine and Archie the Ambulance speed off to rescue Mr Singh.
Then, of course, there is Pingu. Guppy knows better than to interrupt Alex during Pingu. Today the little penguin seems to have a nightmare in which his bed grows legs, walks away and gets eaten by a walrus.
As the cartoon ends, Guppy moves over to sit by the toddler.
"Pingu again!" Alex says, going to tug at the cupboard door. Alas for him, all cupboards are Alex-proofed with actual padlocks.
"Pingu's all gone." Guppy says, turning off the television. "I need to explain something to you."
With the television off, Alex wanders off over the other side of the room and picks up one of the toy cars he was lining up earlier. He sits down and spins the wheel of it, watching the spinning wheel, over and over. Guppy moves over to sit next to him.
"In Milliways, things are different from here." he says. "So although Doc died..."
"Doc died. Byebye Doc."
"Yes, we said bye bye Doc. But a younger Doc came back to the bar, from an earlier time. So now Doc is back."
Spin the wheel, spin the wheel.
"But we didn't know that would happen, that's why it was sad and scary. But now we can be happy again."
Alex stares at him blankly. Frogspawn, watching from the door, shakes her head at him and comes to sit next to Alex. There's one way to get his attention and make him notice things, and so she sings to him what she hopes will help.
"He is not yet dead,
He can dance and he can sing,
He is not yet dead,
He can do the highland fling,
He is not yet dead
No need to go to bed,
No need to call the doctor
'cos he's not yet dead."
She stops, as both Guppy and Alex stare at her in amazement. Then the baby laughs.
"Not yet dead!"
"Yeah." Guppy says. It's not the method he'd have chosen, but it seems to have worked. "Not yet dead."
He waits for the toddler to stop watching TV first. It's been a difficult week for Alex; on Monday the childrens' TV channel decided to move Pingu to after The NeeNaws and he's still getting used to the transition. Guppy cannot help but approve of the new schedule though; in his view a cartoon that teaches children how to call the emergency services is more educational than one without a single human word in.
The Neenaws portrays far less traumatic accidents than he remembers from A+E. Mr Singh the Solicitor seems to have fallen down a hole today, leading to the sequence mid-cartoon of how to call the emergency services (999, which service required, who you are, where you are and what happened). And then a rousing shout of 'Its time for...', to which Alex joins in with a yell of "tuh Neenaws!", before Faezeh the Fire Engine and Archie the Ambulance speed off to rescue Mr Singh.
Then, of course, there is Pingu. Guppy knows better than to interrupt Alex during Pingu. Today the little penguin seems to have a nightmare in which his bed grows legs, walks away and gets eaten by a walrus.
As the cartoon ends, Guppy moves over to sit by the toddler.
"Pingu again!" Alex says, going to tug at the cupboard door. Alas for him, all cupboards are Alex-proofed with actual padlocks.
"Pingu's all gone." Guppy says, turning off the television. "I need to explain something to you."
With the television off, Alex wanders off over the other side of the room and picks up one of the toy cars he was lining up earlier. He sits down and spins the wheel of it, watching the spinning wheel, over and over. Guppy moves over to sit next to him.
"In Milliways, things are different from here." he says. "So although Doc died..."
"Doc died. Byebye Doc."
"Yes, we said bye bye Doc. But a younger Doc came back to the bar, from an earlier time. So now Doc is back."
Spin the wheel, spin the wheel.
"But we didn't know that would happen, that's why it was sad and scary. But now we can be happy again."
Alex stares at him blankly. Frogspawn, watching from the door, shakes her head at him and comes to sit next to Alex. There's one way to get his attention and make him notice things, and so she sings to him what she hopes will help.
"He is not yet dead,
He can dance and he can sing,
He is not yet dead,
He can do the highland fling,
He is not yet dead
No need to go to bed,
No need to call the doctor
'cos he's not yet dead."
She stops, as both Guppy and Alex stare at her in amazement. Then the baby laughs.
"Not yet dead!"
"Yeah." Guppy says. It's not the method he'd have chosen, but it seems to have worked. "Not yet dead."
