The Caretaker
This topic contains 343 replies, has 54 voices, and was last updated by 
Dentarthurdent 11 months, 1 week ago.
-
Anonymous @
@mudlark @purofilion Interesting that you describe the Skovox Blitzer as a clever and scary monster when the majority of us who have commented on it at thought otherwise. I agree with @serahni that it could have been different if the monster had been the focus of the story; a robot soldier capable of destroying planets, whose apparent default was to identify everything animate as a threat to be destroyed, clearly has potential to be terrifying. As it was, there was no sense of jeopardy;
I found the Skovox Blitzer an odd sort of threat. On first viewing, I quite liked the idea of its design, although it did kind of remind me of the Trade Federation mechno-chair from The Phantom Menace with a little bit of a droideka and Davros added in.
Looking back, all that now sticks in my mind is that the weapons system on it seemed weirdly off-centre, and the voice was less threatening than it ought to have been.
Mind you, an *army* of these things might have a little more impact!
Still, I believe that it fulfilled its function as an unthinking robot soldier to act as a contrast to Danny as a human soldier who is quite capable of either regretting fulfilling his orders, or even disobeying them.
@mudlark All I intended to convey was that, in a different story, told in a different way, the Skovox Blitzer could have been developed into a much scarier monster.
Agreed. As a maguffin it was perfectly adequate, but it does have the potential to have been more.
For me, in terms of one-shot adversaries it is a bit like the Raston Warrior Robot – i.e. it would be cool to see it again with some context such as who built it, where it comes from, against whom was it originally designed.
Oh, and can it slaughter cybermen?
I finally managed to watch the episode last night. It felt very much like an episode of the Sarah Jane Adventures, whether that was because of the writer, location, ‘monster’ or the fact of watching sci-fi on a school night! This is a long post (which is becoming a habit of mine here), please let me know if you want me to be a little more concise!
First of all Otter Who is a thing now!
I’d suggest that everyone here goes to the official BBC Doctor Who website after each episode. It usually clears up a lot of facts and references for me. Here’s the one for The Caretaker – bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3rplSFcj3ZSHPhgk3NPYMRL/the-caretaker-fact-file
Was the Police Officer actaully a PCSO? He certainly had the right hat. It also fits in with the theme of a lower-rank/greater risk
I found Danny really interesting in this episode. He seems completely ordinary most of the time but then he’ll give a look that implies an ulterior motive or subliminal thought. Notice how he thinks it is quite plausible that Clara and the Doctor are aliens. Considering how most humans in other episodes like to dismiss there existence I felt this slightly odd. There was also “UFO” in grafitti outside the old building where the Skovox Blitzer was hiding (note for @BadWulf The Blitzer was atracted to Arton energy in a nearby old building. It wasn’t actually in the school until the Doctor lured it there!).
I had really high hopes for the Blitzer at the beginning of the episode. He seemed to be a mix of other monsters. Silurian head, Cyberman body, Dalek Eyes and lots of Auton mannequins lying around. At first I wondered if the Doctor had created it and planted it there as an excuse to spend more time with Clara and show him how exciting and wonderful he is. However, turns out it wasn’t nearly as creative as that! Just another “deadliest” robot that went to the Stormtrooper School of Shooting
Clara mentions Orson Pink to the Doctor but no word of Rupert. I wish she would be a bit more upfront with both of them about this! When Danny asks Clara why she travels with the Doctor she says it was because of the awesome things she sees. I was expecting her to talk about how the Doctor is a Good Man and they need eachother, not just that time and space travel is cool.
Danny also straight away calls out the Doctor as being Clara’s Dad. Is that too obvious?
Danny spoiled the Doctor’s original plan but ended up being the inspiration for the successful plan, very loopy. He seems to have turned from Dan Dan the Soldier Man to Dan Dan the Action Man. What a jump!
The Doctor kept referring to Danny as a P.E. teacher. This made me think he has actually been spying on Danny already. Danny does, after all, run a before-school Coal Hill Cadets club.
You really get a sense of PTSD when Clara walks Danny down the steps after nearly being sucked into the time-hole/vortex thing. Almost like he was having some kind of flashback.
The behaved just how I expected him to this whole episode. The only thing I didn’t get was why he didn’t evacuate the school?
I loved the whole Adrian (Matt-Smith-a-like) confusion. Did you spot Adrain wanted to talk to Clara about The Tempest. I’m no expert but isn’t that a story of an exiled magician duke conjuring up a storm to give his daughter her rightful place of power?
Most people here seem to like the Courtney Woods character yet I remember an outcry previously when we had kids in the TARDIS. I really don’t like her at the moment. I think that is because I knew too many nasty girls like her when I was in school! I’ll give her a chance to redeem herself now the Doctor has opened her eyes. “Courtney Woods” is an anagram of “Doctors New You”, a message for Clara perhaps?
@nick1235 “The Doctor said : “I had one teacher EXACTLY like you” – another time travel event for Clara to the Gallifrey?”
Great spot Nick, that’s a great idea for a Claricle
My thoughts on “Heaven”
@flirtingdinosaur “Missy is back. Although she pretty much kicks all of our theories in the gut.”
My thoughts exactly! I was sure it would be the Blitzer ending up in heaven and instead we get the PCSO (including his hands). So presumably Heaven has nothing to do with robots but also, if the burnt hands where the PCSO’s and not a mannequin then they aren’t physically being teleported there, it’s a reconstruction or virtualistaion.
The white room reminded me of a scene from another show, possibly a cartoon or maybe Bill & Ted 2. Is Heaven actually Hell? Is that what the PCSO saw when he looked out the window? Does every door in that long corridor lead to an individuals own personal hell? Similar to The God Complex too I suppose.The word Nether-sphere implies a bubble or orb where things are contained separate to everything else. A bubble universe perhaps?
@fivefaces Congrats, you spotted a Roman link! The man in the Nethersphere was called Seb. A quick look at wikipedia reveals the name has roots in Ancient Rome and Greece. Deriving from the words for <span style=”color: #252525;”>”awe, reverence, dread, shame”. It also sticks with this series’ religious theme thanks to Saint Sebastian</span>
I’m guessing that every death means a trip to the Nethersphere/Heaven. In other words, it is really the same as the idea that Earthlings have of an Afterlife. I think the Doctor has already stated there is no such thing in a previous episode so he must be completely unaware of Missy’s antics. Missy only has tea with people that can tell her about the Doctor. Perhaps she wants to swap places with him and escape the Promised Land?
A few other side notes
@phileasf I haven’t quoted you in my post but I always enjoy reading your insights, you always seem to see something that I don’t
@blenkinsopthebrave Now it is time for more coffee to ruminate on “the promised land”
I read that as “Now it is time for more coffee to urinate on “the promised land”! A good place to finish 😉
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
