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Doctor Who Episode 10 - Eater of Light (by Rona Munro)
Finally saw the latest Doctor Who which once again cut off the last two minutes. Dang it. That was the best part of the entire episode.
However, Doctor Who, Episode 10, Eater of the Light by Scottish playwrite and tele-writer Rona Munro, who also wrote the Doctor Who episode Survival in 1989, and is among the few female writers of the series, was actually among the better episodes to date.
I am, however, wondering why all the soliders in these episodes are dressed in red, and all the monsters seem to lizards or fish. (Yes, I know Roman soliders tended to wear red...but, not always, and why these soliders?) Maybe that's just me? Maybe it is coincidence? There were a few that weren't, not many, but a few. Maybe...there's some sort of metaphor relating to ancient Rome and the Scots that I'm missing because I don't remember the history that well? (I vaguely remember visiting Hadrian's Wall in the 1980s, and hearing the tale about how the Scots built it and kept the Romans back. Rome was able to conquer everyone but Scotland, in part due to the wall, in part due to the cold.)
There also seems to be an on-going theme about shutting out the light. Along with the agency/choice theme.
Not overly sure the episodic nature of this season works. With just snippets of an overall arc.
This was a metaphor heavy episode, as opposed to plot heavy, which I think worked better. Had a sort of fairy tale structure to it. Also worked better from a structural perspective. I actually prefer Doctor Who when it follows a more dark fairy tale style than sci-fi style. Mainly because I'm not sure these writers are very adept at sci-fi.
Am wondering if it is possible to do an episode without a monster of the week?
1. Liked the use of the soliders better this week. Apparently Rona Munro has a deeper appreciation of the Roman Legion and the Ancient Celts than Gatis does of the Victorian Soliders?
2. Also some fun throw-away lines.
Doctor: "They were killed by a lack of light, or the absence of light."
Nardole: "In other words, Death by Scotland."
Doctor: Not quite, require a great more removal than that.
or...
Doctor: The crows talk, people just don't listen to them so they are sulking."
Nadole: Maybe they aren't sulking and just remembering..."
or
Bill: I don't like men in that way only women.
Lucius: So you are restrictive much like Crocious.
Crocius: I like men, just not you.
Lucius: I like both, men and women, less restrictive. But it is okay, you can be restrictive if you want.
Bill: How very modern of you.
Somewhat true, the Romans and Greeks were a little less prudish and restrictive in some respects, but women also had less power back then.
Munro is much better at dialogue than the last three writers.
3. The eaters of light were interesting...a sort of metaphoric device for how the warring clans were removing the light from their world by constant conquering and warfare. When they join together -- they keep the devouring darkness at bay.
BTW -- why does the Doctor keep trying to sacrifice himself? Does he have a suicide wish?
4. I'm enjoying Missy this season, maybe because I'm getting so little of her or the character is played a little less cartoonish. Interesting he's pulled her out of her vault to aid him.
What I also found interesting was the emphasis on music. The music that calls to the little girl in the beginning to look at the stones. The little boy who warns her that the monster in the hill will eat her and destroy them all. And the pictograph of the tardis carved in the stone.
Then the music that the Doctor has Missy listen to, so she can understand, why they fight and it does not feel in vain. "Because of the music. With everything you seen or done, you've never stopped to listen to the music and it makes all the difference." She stops and hears the music...and cries. "I don't even know why I'm crying, and wonders if they can become friends again." There's always hope, he states (or he tried to before it cut out on me. As an aside so did my computer, it automatically shut off. Luckily DW automatically saved the post.)
Another metaphor -- music equaling light and kindness and empathy. Meaning in the void.
What I didn't like?
* I found it to be slow in places, my attention kept wandering. Also I didn't understand why they were hunting the Lost Roman Legion or the significance of the 9th Roman Legion, and I actually studied that period of Anglo-Saxon history. I've studied more ancient history than modern history, which is weird. Actually my historical interests are slightly jumpy. I loved ancient history, Druid, Celt, Roman, Greek, Bablyonian, and Chinese, along with the Native American cultures prior to and including Columbus. Then I jumped to around the Civil War period or 1800s. Then back to Elizabethan times, and Sir Francis Drake and Shakespeare, and the Renaissance. Absolutely no interest in Middle Ages, literature or otherwise, best forgotten in my opinion. Jump to WWI. Ignore WWIII. No interest in Victorian Age, or WII. But Korea - Vietnam War interested me. Then jump ahead to the future and science fiction.
Weird. I think it's because far too much time in school was spent on - The Tudors, Revolutionary War, World War II, and the Victorians, and not enough on everything else. I wanted to fill in the gaps.
*Anyhow. Also didn't like the monster. But I haven't liked any of the monsters this season. So at least I'm consistent. The only one I found halfway interesting was puddle.
Outside of that a better episode than the previous ones. This season started out okay, then sort of ....got really slow. I have to admit I haven't found the series all that interesting since Doctor River Song, Amy, and Rory left. But I'm apparently in the minority on that point.
However, Doctor Who, Episode 10, Eater of the Light by Scottish playwrite and tele-writer Rona Munro, who also wrote the Doctor Who episode Survival in 1989, and is among the few female writers of the series, was actually among the better episodes to date.
I am, however, wondering why all the soliders in these episodes are dressed in red, and all the monsters seem to lizards or fish. (Yes, I know Roman soliders tended to wear red...but, not always, and why these soliders?) Maybe that's just me? Maybe it is coincidence? There were a few that weren't, not many, but a few. Maybe...there's some sort of metaphor relating to ancient Rome and the Scots that I'm missing because I don't remember the history that well? (I vaguely remember visiting Hadrian's Wall in the 1980s, and hearing the tale about how the Scots built it and kept the Romans back. Rome was able to conquer everyone but Scotland, in part due to the wall, in part due to the cold.)
There also seems to be an on-going theme about shutting out the light. Along with the agency/choice theme.
Not overly sure the episodic nature of this season works. With just snippets of an overall arc.
This was a metaphor heavy episode, as opposed to plot heavy, which I think worked better. Had a sort of fairy tale structure to it. Also worked better from a structural perspective. I actually prefer Doctor Who when it follows a more dark fairy tale style than sci-fi style. Mainly because I'm not sure these writers are very adept at sci-fi.
Am wondering if it is possible to do an episode without a monster of the week?
1. Liked the use of the soliders better this week. Apparently Rona Munro has a deeper appreciation of the Roman Legion and the Ancient Celts than Gatis does of the Victorian Soliders?
2. Also some fun throw-away lines.
Doctor: "They were killed by a lack of light, or the absence of light."
Nardole: "In other words, Death by Scotland."
Doctor: Not quite, require a great more removal than that.
or...
Doctor: The crows talk, people just don't listen to them so they are sulking."
Nadole: Maybe they aren't sulking and just remembering..."
or
Bill: I don't like men in that way only women.
Lucius: So you are restrictive much like Crocious.
Crocius: I like men, just not you.
Lucius: I like both, men and women, less restrictive. But it is okay, you can be restrictive if you want.
Bill: How very modern of you.
Somewhat true, the Romans and Greeks were a little less prudish and restrictive in some respects, but women also had less power back then.
Munro is much better at dialogue than the last three writers.
3. The eaters of light were interesting...a sort of metaphoric device for how the warring clans were removing the light from their world by constant conquering and warfare. When they join together -- they keep the devouring darkness at bay.
BTW -- why does the Doctor keep trying to sacrifice himself? Does he have a suicide wish?
4. I'm enjoying Missy this season, maybe because I'm getting so little of her or the character is played a little less cartoonish. Interesting he's pulled her out of her vault to aid him.
What I also found interesting was the emphasis on music. The music that calls to the little girl in the beginning to look at the stones. The little boy who warns her that the monster in the hill will eat her and destroy them all. And the pictograph of the tardis carved in the stone.
Then the music that the Doctor has Missy listen to, so she can understand, why they fight and it does not feel in vain. "Because of the music. With everything you seen or done, you've never stopped to listen to the music and it makes all the difference." She stops and hears the music...and cries. "I don't even know why I'm crying, and wonders if they can become friends again." There's always hope, he states (or he tried to before it cut out on me. As an aside so did my computer, it automatically shut off. Luckily DW automatically saved the post.)
Another metaphor -- music equaling light and kindness and empathy. Meaning in the void.
What I didn't like?
* I found it to be slow in places, my attention kept wandering. Also I didn't understand why they were hunting the Lost Roman Legion or the significance of the 9th Roman Legion, and I actually studied that period of Anglo-Saxon history. I've studied more ancient history than modern history, which is weird. Actually my historical interests are slightly jumpy. I loved ancient history, Druid, Celt, Roman, Greek, Bablyonian, and Chinese, along with the Native American cultures prior to and including Columbus. Then I jumped to around the Civil War period or 1800s. Then back to Elizabethan times, and Sir Francis Drake and Shakespeare, and the Renaissance. Absolutely no interest in Middle Ages, literature or otherwise, best forgotten in my opinion. Jump to WWI. Ignore WWIII. No interest in Victorian Age, or WII. But Korea - Vietnam War interested me. Then jump ahead to the future and science fiction.
Weird. I think it's because far too much time in school was spent on - The Tudors, Revolutionary War, World War II, and the Victorians, and not enough on everything else. I wanted to fill in the gaps.
*Anyhow. Also didn't like the monster. But I haven't liked any of the monsters this season. So at least I'm consistent. The only one I found halfway interesting was puddle.
Outside of that a better episode than the previous ones. This season started out okay, then sort of ....got really slow. I have to admit I haven't found the series all that interesting since Doctor River Song, Amy, and Rory left. But I'm apparently in the minority on that point.
no subject
The tendency to generalize about the villain appears not to have changed much, unfortunately.
But, with the advent of the internet and information age, it's harder to maintain, because we can share information with people from other cultures and nationalities, which fortunately blows up the stereotype or generalization.
Which is what we are doing now...like I didn't know that dyes played a factor in the color of military uniforms.
no subject
I wonder if the change in the 90s and early 2000s was because that was the period when Britain was recovering economically and starting to become eminent on the world again - maybe Americans did see us as a threat to their hegemony and expressed it in their culture? Or maybe it was just a passing fashion. Whatever it was, it seems to have declined in recent years.
It could sometimes be tiresome to see ones own people always playing the villain, but I never minded as much as some other people. And I feel anyone is allowed to be rumbunctious on their independence day :D