Dinosaurs On A Space Ship

[poliphilo]

Earlier incarnations of the Doctor didn't go in for kill and quip. It was one of the things that differentiated the character from other super hero types like Bond or Arnie. I sense (and deplore) a growing amorality. 

Otherwise this second episode fully delivered on the promise of its title. Production values have never been higher. Rory's Dad is the new Wilf Mott (only Wilf Mott moved me). 

Comments

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they did. Not actually seen last night's yet, as I was out at a party, but from what I hear of it, it didn't take the Doctor anywhere he hadn't been before.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'd heard about that incident but hadn't seen it. I hate the oompah-oompah comedy music.

So, it's been done before. But it's ugly and a bit of an aberration and I'd rather they didn't go back there.

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Oh, indeed. That scene caused a lot of controversy at the time, and still does. I really love stories which show the darker side of the Doctor's character, as long as they also acknowledge that, explore it and work through its implications. It's the 'kill and quip' model, as you say, with no accompanying sense of moral compass, that's problematic.

(Still haven't seen last night's, though!)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm all for the Doctor being dark, but I don't like him to be morally trivial. Matt Smith's Doctor is a bit of a lightweight, I think.

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

How did that happen, I wonder? Are all the episodes being written by the same person now?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've no idea.

There's a small team of writers presided over by a show-runner who sets the tone and constructs the larger story arc.

[setsuled.livejournal.com]

I agree the Doctor is more interesting as a pacifist--pacifists are all too rare. Though I don't feel like he killed Solomon so lightly, the way he talked about whether Solomon gave the Silurians any chance for mercy. Solomon was an unrepentant mass-murderer who very likely would've done it again. It was certainly the Doctor turning to a not pacifist solution, but I wouldn't say it was amoral.

Still, when the Doctor goes darker, I kind of prefer what they were doing with the seventh Doctor, where he was a subtle manipulator kind of dark.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

This Doctor is altogether too breezy for my taste. I'd like him to slow down occasionally and reflect on what he's doing.

[butterscotch711.livejournal.com]

In the very first Dalek story, the Doctor and his companions convince the Thals to go to war.

Later, Tom Baker's Doctor is philosophical and pacifist and refuses to destroy the Daleks. Later still, Sylver McCoy's Doctor (very controversially) destroys the Dalek planet. I think the Doctor has swung between pacifism and non-pacifism and it's something worthy of the series's ongoing exploration but-

Spoiler warning for Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

-it wasn't done well in this episode. I think what was supposed to lead to the Doctor's decision at the end was his reaction to Solomon having committed genocide. But the Doctor's reaction wasn't delved into enough. It was clumsy.

(Otherwise, I agree, a fun, very well made episode.)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Nine and Ten were deeply conflicted about violence. Eleven seems to take it in his stride- which makes him altogether less interesting....

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it kind of left a sour taste in the mouth...