I really liked this episode. Reminded me the old series...reminded me the pre-Moffat era.
Doctor Who is supposed to be light and unpretentious.
I hate when every episode has to be a mind fucking from hell.
And Bill is adorable... <3
Meh episode. For me it's just for the moral question and the knocking on the door at the end
Could have given Capaldi a better sidekick on his last season
Timely....
(The Doctor speaking to a Lord)
"Human progress isn't measured by Industry,
"It's measured by the value you place on a life;
"An unimportant life, a life without privilege.
"The boy who died on the river: That boy's value is your value.
"That's what defines an age; that's what defines a species."
This is going to be a difficult subject, because it's difficult to tackle in the show. That of if you have a black companion for example, then there is going to be racism and persecution when you're going back in time.
In Martha's adventures it was half handwaved like in the Shakespeare episode, and half taken seriously in the family of blood episodes. Although i don't know the actual racial historical situation of the Shakespeare time period. Her season was more about adventures than issues concerning race, which as a sci-fi show is what you should mostly be doing. There's plenty of other shows and dramas that deal with racial issues more seriously.
In Doctor Who, you can either ignore history for the sake of the adventure, or address moments or plots of racism and persecution, or try to strike a balance in-between. Any of these i'm fine with really, even though the former is more unrealistic.
In this episode, it seemed like they were going to blackwash history a bit to handwave away the potential racism and persecution for the sake of the adventure. This would be even more unrealistic than the former reason i described. I don't care too much if the show does this kind of thing, but it does take you out of the episode a bit.
And in not portraying history authentically, you risk ignoring the mistakes of humanity's past, along with the setting not feeling realistic. But it would be grating if you have a black companion and every time you go to recent history they have an experience of racism, as it might undercut the sci-fi adventure serial that is the show. So while it might be difficult in striking a balance between all of this, talented writers are able to do so, and don't take you out of the episode. A lot of people watch this show for escapism from real world situations and problems too.
Later in the episode, racism was authentically brought up with that noble and it was dealt with well. We saw the realism of the situation and doctor's heroic reaction against it.
Bill did not react, because she thought it could land them in serious trouble or death, and the doctor also told her not to react in order for them to get information. And this also connects to real life experiences from people who have been victims of racism, that it's hard to fight back or if you fight back too much then you are in the wrong because maybe you became violent, and it's also harder to prove racist attacks, and you need to decide what the appropriate response is to do. They have to carry the stress of that, whereas white people in western society generally don't, but no one should have to carry that kind of stress or be a victim of racism.
Bill risked releasing the creature and killing thousands of people, the choice the doctor wanted her to make. Another test for his companion. This doctor wants companions who make the compassionate choice over the logical one. It's part of the instability and liability of 12.
To soften the choice, i would have liked for Bill to say "there must be another way" and then the doctor finds another way.
I'm starting to like Billy after these couple episodes, but because it's all reminding me of the beginnings of Rose/Eccleston/Tennant and also Donna/Tennant with some bits of Clara/Matt.. Even classic doctors Era. Not sure if it's gonna hold the whole season, in general looks weak as many have said, but doesn't feel as bad as I thought. Maybe it's because I'm coming back to the series after a long while, but I'm even feeling respect for Capaldi. I hope he gets a proper goodbye and with episodes like this one, there's no need for big Moffat fireworks. Good storyline, we'll played out, really nice aftertaste
At First I didn't like the Capaldi Doctor, but now I come Topf think, that's because I liked Clara a lot. I didn't like the Smith Doctor very much either but, with him we got a decent storyline at least. Plus, I liked Amy a lot (I even liked Rory). Maybe if the companion is too likeable, the Doctor is less so?
This episode was tastless. I wanted to give a chance to Bill, but she does not bring anything new to the serie, same reactions, same stories, Doctor Who is slowly becoming a dying tv show.
Guess I'm the optimist here. I liked the first episode, the emoji one was a little worse than I expected, and while this one looked like filler in the preview last week, I quite enjoyed this one. Not bad. Didn't like Capaldi at first, but he's growing on me, though he's a second rate Eleven (that's Matt Smith, not Millie Bobby Brown) at best.
Shout by ramadriBlockedParent2017-05-02T14:38:43Z
Bill works as a sidekick, no objections there. But the episodes, are weak, kind of old themes embellished a little. Same stories only with a new face. I'm guessing whatever is behind the vault it will be the death of the current doctor. His lack of worry makes us ignore the danger. Not a good job around that arch