Everyone on holiday for half term? 🙂
Anyway, for those who don’t think Doctor Who has ever addressed social themes: Fariah, it turns out, has been forced into a servant’s role. She even has to smile when Salamander wants her to smile.
Oh, and while the blonde Astrid doesn’t get shot on sight, Fariah does. For context: this episode was broadcast about three months before Dr Martin Luther King was assassinated and there were certainly tensions in the UK between the black community and the police.
Social themes aside, it becomes apparent in this episode that the Doctor believes Kent is setting him up as an assassin. One thing I did think was that the Doctor has a very long road to travel: from the Second Doctor’s ‘no one has that right’ to the War Doctor’s decision (even if he gets stopped) to commit genocide.
The complete incompetence of the resistance (we’ve just had two of our members arrested, so let’s all go back to our best known address) is only matched by the ineffectual guards. The guards, however, have been given some excuse – it’s pretty clear in the direction that they despise Benik and intend to just go through the motions.
Well, apart from our over-enthusiastic guard who shoots the one person who happens to be black. Entirely her fault, of course. She was unarmed and running away.
As well as finding out that Benik really is a complete s**t, we also find out (as Craig says) that Salamander really is a devious bar-steward (must be the jacket). An entire underground base who thinks there’s a war going on up top? And that Salamander is the brave person finding food for them? What is he up to?
Barbara Lefty 9 years, 2 months ago.
