From: doctor@doctor.nl2k.ab.ca   
      
   In article <10gki31$1h5to$1@dont-email.me>,   
   Don Macron   wrote:   
   >What are your opinions about this episode?   
   >   
   >My understanding this was originally intended to be a Matt Smith and   
   >Karen Gillan episode, set during season 6, and it was later adapted for   
   >the Disney reboot.  That means that the original plot twist would have   
   >involved not racism, but xenophobia/tribalism.   
   >   
   >It's clear the Doctor was more pushy and condescending, while his   
   >companion took a softer approach.  This explains why Lindy reacted   
   >differently to them.  Plus, the Doctor committed the horrible "crime" of   
   >bumping Ricky September off her feed during her morning routine.   
   >   
   >Of course, in the Gatwa version, the conventional wisdom is that the   
   >audience is supposed to *infer* that all the Finetimers are horribly   
   >racist people and every interaction between them and the Doctor was   
   >"racist".  However, this is never made explicit in the episode itself.   
   >All of the dialogue would still work just as functionally if they were   
   >rejecting the Doctor for the same reasons they would have in the Smith   
   >script (he's an Outsider, he's older, he's not human).   
   >   
   >Putting the tacked on racism angle aside, it's ironic that RTD chose to   
   >parody and lampoon an entire age demographic as being vapid and shallow,   
   >especially when the show was supposedly trying to appeal to that   
   >demographic.   
   >   
   >That said, the episode raises some interesting questions which are   
   >possibly beyond the intellect of the specific audience that it was   
   >pandering to.  Particularly, did Lindey become "irredeemable" when she   
   >directed the phantasm ball to kill Ricky instead of her?  It's easy for   
   >those who've never actually been in a life-or-death situation to condemn   
   >her, but how many people can honestly say they know for 100% sure they   
   >wouldn't have reacted the same way in a split second while in full Fight   
   >or Flight mode?   
   >   
   >How much of her behavior at the end of the episode was informed by her   
   >shock/PTSD/denial/guilt over what had just happened to her?   
   >   
   >In almost every review I've read, people seem to be cheering on the idea   
   >that all of the young people in this episode died horrible deaths.  It's   
   >very strange that a Doctor Who story would intend to provoke this type   
   >of reaction in its audience.  The episode itself does not endorse this   
   >view, but it was left open ended as to what actually happened to them   
   >(although the Doctor says/believes they'll die, but the audience was   
   >never shown why he's so confident of that).   
   >   
   >I have a theory that the overrideing reason why many viewers wished   
   >horrible deaths upon the Finetimers is because they saw a lot of   
   >themselves in them, and it hit too close to home.   
   >   
   >In retrospect, this felt like it was a "setup" episode, to be followed   
   >up later with a possible twist of Lindey either being redeemed or   
   >becoming a new recurring villain.  There was also still the loose end of   
   >how Brewster survived, even though his name was towards the beginning of   
   >the list.  What little we saw of him reminded me of Conrad.   
      
   4/10   
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