Doctor Who Archives - Lobo Strategies

Last week’s episode of “Doctor Who” was a fun little romp. It featured a few very cool hat tips to one of my favorite themes: pirates. The Doctor, Amy, Rory and the Tardis land on a pirate vessel that has been “becalmed” and is beset by a vengeful siren. So this episode is a classic Doctor Who: a unique historical setting (including swordplay and a cute girl in pirate garb), a classic myth that is finally revealed, and an important moral.
Today’s moral is simple: don’t fear the unknown (a classic Doctor Who theme). The very thing that is an ominous bogeyman can also be a beautiful blessing. In this case, a siren can be a very effective holographic doctor.
But the classic moral and the stirring pirate motif aren’t enough to save this story. Yes, it’s a fun episode. And I’m sure that it is moving the season story forward – at least a little bit. And you have to like the fact that a group of seventeenth-century pirates get a cool new pirate ship.
Unfortunately, there are a few things about this episode that just drag on. The ending scene with the pregnancy scan vacillating between between pregnant and not pregnant is so contrived. And the reminders of the Doctor’s “impending doom” are curious, but not compelling. Finally, the underlying question of “who does Amy love” is never really advanced any further.
At least one thing is emerging clearly: every story has a key child in it. First there was the child in the astronaut suit. And this episode brings us the captain’s son. Similarly, we can all see the importance of the Amy/Rory child-to-be (if he/she ever happens). Who knows where this arc will end. But I’m looking forward to each new episode.
-Roo

Television programming in the US can be very innovative. But sometimes, domestic issues can only be discussed in foreign media. And so Steven Moffat (a writer for “Doctor Who”) chose to include President Richard M. Nixon in two episodes of the series. When I watched these episodes, I marveled at the fun (and the respect) that Steven Moffat showed to this former President.
Here in the United States, very few people even talk about Richard Nixon. Yes, he is discussed in history texts. But I can’t think of a single time that I or my contemporaries have included this President in our discussions. He is either reviled or simply ignored in America. I know of no one who is kind, gracious or even the least bit deferential towards this man.
But a Scottish writer of a Welsh production company dared to make President Nixon a featured character in two episodes of their flagship series. And they did a really fine job of it as well. The character (as written by Moffat) was a reasonable representation of a man who was being swept away by an extraordinary situation. And Moffat decided to go a step further: this characterization of Nixon dealt with aliens. And this version of President Nixon is now a “companion” of the Doctor. I NEVER would have imagined Nixon as a companion. But there he was.
The story was a middle-of-the-road Doctor Who narrative about aliens and the Doctor’s love for humanity. It had the typical forward references to whatever the culminating episode will be this year. And it had the obligatory Steven Moffat fascination with silence as a conduit for fear. [Note: I really like this theme being woven in many Moffat stories. But I really wonder why Moffat has such a fascination.]
But I am not a TV critic. I am a Doctor Who fan and I am a student of history. For me, I find it exhilarating that people are talking about Nixon after all these years. And they are talking about him as a man – not as a humiliated President. I love the “in jokes” about tape recording things. And I really like the implied (but never stated) consideration of the missing minutes of audio tape.
Bottom line: This was a respectful and innovative consideration of Richard Nixon, the man. Unfortunately, it was only an average Doctor Who episode.
-Roo

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Pirates and Sirens and Children – Oh My!

Only British TV Could Do This