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‘We are the Life that Prevails’, fitting in with Dalek Rusty’s Road-to-Damascus moment of ‘Life … prevails.’
Absolutely – I think Rusty’s revelation may have been SM writing the mission statement for this series. While I’ve dwelled on Missy being Death, most of the stories are about life and the desire for it – in some cases unlikely things striving for life. Life and Death have that joint relationship, and need balance. Maybe that balance has become skewed.
I had a bit of a flashback with this episode to something I read as a student – Alan Moore’s wonderful run on the Swamp Thing. I have therefore picked my old copies up, and have become entranced, yet again. It really is astonishing work. I may have to put up a blog post.
I think the wonderful CGI of the city under the green did it, and there is a section of the run in which Swamp Thing lays siege to Gotham (bringing him into conflict with Batman). As a plant elemental, he’s practically a god and the de-facto “Voice of the Trees” for the DC Universe. I half expected him to lumber up.
I wish someone could tempt Moore to an episode of Who. I have no idea what the result would be, but the man has an outrageous imagination.As we’ve been discussing Series 8, we’ve had a few mentions of how difficult it must be for writers to anticipate how the new Doctor will work. I guess that doesn’t just go for TV as this Guardian interview with writer Holly Black reveals.
Her Book – Lights out, is an addition to the eleven doctor short stories by famous writers released last year, and is an addition for Doctor number 12. It’s quite fun with her talking about what she had to go on, and her relief at being to edit once she’d seen Deep Breath.
That entire range is being released again for all 12 Doctors, and I love the limited run in a slip case. Each of the novels have jackets that really are jackets . Gallery of them all.
Cover for Lights Out.
Some interesting points on the Soap Opera front. It’s not a term I can really equate with criticism for very specific reasons. I think it must have been levelled at virtually every writer of a franchise I’ve followed internet comments on. @bluesqueakpip may have a better grasp of the Whedonverse than I do, but I’m sure I’ve read criticism of Angel on this front. I’ve certainly read it for shows like Fringe, Battlestar (as @jimthefish mentioned) and Farscape.
I’ll attempt to explain why I object to it as a criticism, which will require a really long post. In it, to summarise, I’ll talk:
- A bit about UK soaps;
- A bit about why I think Doctor Who failed in the 80s;
- A bit about why I think the relaunch succeeded, and continues to.
I don’t really like Soap Opera, but I’m sure I saw loads of it when I was growing up because my mum followed them all. Weirdly, long before they became internet groupings, I’m sure she could be classified as:
A fan “It’s not as good as it used to be when [Insert character Name] was in it”;
A Shipper “I can’t believe she chose that toe-rag instead of [Insert character Name]!”
A Bonkers Theorist “He’s acting suspiciously around her. I reckon he’s her long lost son. She let slip she’d had an affair about three years ago.”
These observations were relayed to me while I was doing my homework. And waiting for something good to come on so I could switch to avoiding homework. For international readers, UK Soaps, or continuing dramas are the usual bunch of archetypes with interlacing storylines attempting to keep you riveted as they go through the trials and tribulations of life. Don’t think Dallas or Dynasty, or tele-novellas in Latin America. For the UK, Soap has traditionally dwelled in the ranks of “ordinary people” or “the working class”. Indeed, for years during the 60s and 70s it was the only time you’d regularly hear a working class accent on someone in TV. They owed something to the Angry Young Men school of scriptwriting, who wanted to keep it real. Well, as far as TV would allow them to go anyway. For the people and politicians who ran TV were largely of a Socially Conservative mindset.
When Doctor Who was born it was in the midst of the real changing times of the sixties. I share @blenkinsopthebrave s view of those listings in the content @pedant linked to. It was an unusual experimental period, but a Soap, Coronation Street, really did own the TV at that point. I think society looked ahead. Satire was rocking, experimental humour and drama was in. The future looked good, and a show like Doctor Who which occasionally held up a mirror to the future, and the past was a fantastic idea. The characters, in their buttoned up way, seemed to reflect a spirit of adventure, as Hartnell put it. It was in the air. In the 70s, Who adapted in terms of introducing socially relevant storylines and Satires of its own. In depressed times, it gained new devotees and companions who were aimed to be attuned to the liberated times. Didn’t always work, but the differences could be stark, especially when you had a Script Editor who would accommodate an actress who was willing to make her points (See Liz Sladen, Louise Jamieson and Lalla Ward).
When the 80s happened I’m not sure what happened to that spirit of adventure. Yes – the stories could still entertain, but I don’t think they adapted to changing times. The show, socially, seemed stuck in a rut. In fact, you could argue that female characterisation took a step backwards. Doctor Who was still the adventure, but seemed stunted. Looking backwards, instead of forwards.
In contrast the Soaps were having probably their most successful decade. There were a hell of a lot of boundaries broken in soaps. First homosexual kisses for both male and female characters. First open discussion in drama of the HIV/Aids problem – all on TV before the watershed. Doctor Who’s regular complainer (and possibly chief recruiter), Mary Whitehouse, was therefore otherwise occupied with their immorality, and it took a big effort to poke her a sufficiently pointy stick with Vengeance on Varos. It seemed desperate because it was, and it backfired, as it was ill-timed.
The show, I think, was starting to look a bit dated socially. If you looked at the support characters that were coming through, where was the connection? The real spark?
At the end of 87, we got Ace. Although internal TV conventions made Sophie Aldred be the most well spoken social misfit you could wish to meet, she was boisterous, with sparks fully ignited, and allowed to grow. You had an arc. You had a mystery surrounding her. She had problems with her mum. Unfortunately, the show had been placed opposite the soap Coronation Street and although it struggled against that magnificently, that was a one horse race in the end. A shame, because that in that brief period, Andrew Cartmel tried to inject elements that would be critical in 2005.
We hadn’t seen anything like Ace in Doctor Who since, well at all. Unless you read the comics. A decade before she joined 7, the Fourth Doctor had partnered up with Sharon, a black teenager from an industrial town who said “Flippin Heck!”. What a rebel! 😉 Pat Mills, the writer, said the inspiration had come because he’d been asked to look at a comic for Grange Hill. A Soap – for schoolchildren. This was about 25years before a black character actually strolled onto the TV TARDIS for the first time (Mickey Smith). The comics were always well ahead of the show. It was a much more relaxed social environment.
When Doctor Who went off air, Soap Writers were consulted by both the New Adventure (7th Doctor) and Eight Doctor Novels for new female characters. In protracted sessions they’d draw up a profile for companions. Their history, likes, dislikes, temperament, etc. A crib sheet to start the accumulated story of their adventures with the Doctor. Jacqueline Rayner revealed in the introduction to the recent re-release of her book, Earthworld, that Colin Brake, an experienced soap writer, was drafted to “shape” the companion introduced in the book, Anji Kapoor, British Asian, and a bit self absorbed. Because characters should have traits you could disagree with. It made them more human.
And so it was Russell T Davis who brought the show back. Russell T, who scripted and storylined soaps in his career. Who’d immersed himself in the spin-offs, the comics, the novels and introduced the elements he thought the show needed. The ones that critics rave bought the social relevance back to Doctor Who. It didn’t really need Buffy, as the pieces were really all in place. But I’m sure a reference made the job easier for some in those TV circles. The social relevance, the satire, the messages and banging the drum were all back. About time.
So – as much as I really don’t rate them I have to hand it to Soaps, as for much of the period that Who was in the doldrums, they hit their stride – challenging social conventions and annoying Mary Whitehouse and her ilk. I just wish, during the eighties, that Doctor Who could have adapted in a more lightfooted way to the real issues of its audience. Shown as much bravery as the Soaps did on occasion. They forged a relationship with the audience which I think has been tested since the networks decided to broadcast them almost daily. There are only so many ludicrous storylines you can come up with for a conventional working class street until even the prospect of a moon-egg becomes more feasible. Doctor Who has become that social challenger again, and it is lovely to read outrage from the knee-jerking homophobic fuckwits over a lesbian kiss in Deep Breath.
Thanks Russell for reintroducing the “Soap”, if that is what this is. And keep it up Steven. 😉
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This reply was modified 11 years, 10 months ago by
PhaseShift. Reason: Change in phrase - Knee jerking homophobic fuckwits replaces complained about phrase
The Greatest Sylvester McCoy Episode Vote in the Galaxy – Result!
OK – Collating and reflecting on the votes received, I think we have a clear winner for our choice of Story containing The First Scottish Doctor.
It’s actually pretty apt to reveal it after we’ve seen Mummy on the Orient Express as well. The first victim terrorised by the Mummy on the train was played by Janet Henfrey, one of that exclusive little club of older character actors who managed to appear both before and after the Gap.
Yes – before facing the Mummy she played the formidably dour Miss Hardaker, facing down Vampires in THE CURSE OF FENRIC.
Curse got the most votes of our choices, but thanks to everyone who made a preference. Final tallies were:
Story (Episodes) First Votes
Second Votes
Remembrance of the Daleks (4 x 25 minute ) @phaseshift The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (4 x 25 minute) @arbutus @mudlark @purofilion @bluesqueakpip Battlefield (4 x 25 minute) @wolfweed @jimthefish The Curse of Fenric (4 x 25minute) @janetteb @purofilion @bluesqueakpip @whisht @scaryb @jimthefish @phaseshift @arbutus Survival (3 x 25 minute) @janetteb @mudlark @scaryb We’ll show between the end of this series and the Christmas special. Usual routine, with available review material, but I’d strongly urge you to have a look at the DVD for this one.
The BBC has it for £5.25 and Amazon for £6.10. It actually contains two versions over two discs. The episodic “as broadcast” feature we’ll be covering, but also a special edition in film form, which includes 10 minutes of additional McCoy, some lovely touches to the film quality and visual fx, and best of all, a special update of the soundtrack to full 5.1 sound by composer Mark Ayres. Extracts of which were used for the McCoy sequence in last years Proms. Loads of special features as well, which is nice.
