Doctor Who
Dr Who: An Englishman in LA
Our man in Los Angeles, ROBERT CAVE, takes a look at the fifth episode of the new series of Doctor Who in a weekly review column
Doctor Who Series 9/ Season 35 episode six
Hello everyone, I’m here to stand and deliver spoilers for the sixth episode of series nine of Dr Who.
So, comedian and Dr Who guest star Rufus Hound is immortal now. You can insert your own joke about that here.
I really wanted to like this episode. I was really sold on the notion that Ashildr might not like the immortality that had been thrust upon her. I even like her adoption of the new identity of “Me” (which is how she was credited this episode), though it makes referring to her grammatically difficult. But while the idea of “Me” as a resentful immortal was central, somehow the story as a whole didn’t quite gel together into a convincing narrative for me.
At its heart, this is a tale about the duality of the Doctor’s influence. As Davros observed in the Tenth Doctor story Journey’s End, our protagonist has a tendency to turn people into weapons. But he also helps people reach their untapped potential. As Wilf Mott pointed out later in that same episode, his granddaughter, Donna, “was better” thanks to the Doctor’s influence.
In the Sarah Jane Adventures episode Death of the Doctor (and if you haven’t watched the Sarah Jane Adventures, they are well worth seeking out) the titular former companion reels of a list of other former companions and the great things they achieved on their own, after they left the Doctor. Unlike those former companions, “Me” never travelled with the Doctor, and I really struggle with the idea that “Me” would have much to offer actual former companions (with the possible exception of Adam from The Long Game).
I also struggled believing the “Me” portrayed in her journals. The long life she referenced, the one that she sort of can/sort of can’t remember didn’t really convey the pain and resentment suffered over the years with the weight of truth to make me believe it. A love of her life is mentioned, but she didn’t love him enough to note down his name much less to make him immortal.
Furthermore, despite looking good, this week’s monsters felt almost superfluous: a largely unseen and not very threatening distraction, just a device to move the plot forward.
Ultimately, I felt like this episode’s ambitions were beyond its delivery. But I’d far rather have a script that is ambitious than one that is conservative and risk averse. So, yes, I want to see Catherine Tregenna write more Who. And I want to see how the compelling idea of the Doctor creating a resentful immortal friend is further developed.
A return of “Me” is definitely teased, and if she doesn’t come back after two episodes of set up, that will be very disappointing. My guess is that she’ll hook up with Missy – there were just to many mentions of having to look out for your friends for coincidence.
“Me” could be watching The Doctor, judging him and calling him out on his behaviour at any point after the 17th century. If she is there to pick up the pieces, maybe she could build an equally resentful army of people left behind in the Doctor’s wake, but like I say, I can’t see her successfully recruiting any former companion.
And then there was the ominous outro that practically screamed: “Clara is going with no possibility of ever returning”. We know Jenna Coleman is leaving the series, but the coin of her demise has now been heavily devalued through overuse. I really want to have Coleman’s departure from the show feel meaningful. Let’s hope it is.
But before we get there, we have a Zygon-two parter to come, and I am tremendously excited about it. Maybe a little overexcited. You see, when we last saw them, the Zygons were effectively given asylum on Earth. A story about the fear of alien asylum-seekers and the nature of assimilation and resistance has the potential to be the most politically relevant Doctor Who story in ages. And it’s coming next week.
See you then.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login