8X06 "The Caretaker" Grading/Discussion)(SPOILERS!

[Skywalker]

I thought it was average, but that opening bit of them chained up in the desert seemed tacked on from an entirely different episode, didn't get it at all.

I've seen this criticism a few times now, and I don't really understand it. The beginning of the episode was all about Clara going off on these wacky adventures with the Doctor when she's in the middle of doing things in her personal life on Earth, and Danny constantly noticing how odd it all seems. Immediately after they cut away from the desert planet, Danny remarked to Clara how she looked tanner than she did last time he saw her, which pretty clearly (at least to me) implied that she'd just come home from that adventure on the desert planet.

 

[diankra]

On the Ian thing... I did find myself expecting a line along the lines of...
Clara: "So, you just take over as caretaker? How does that work? Did you fake your references? CRB check?"
Doctor: "Oh, I 've got friends in high places here. Have done for years. Decades. Centuries maybe. Always get them confused. Not important."
Something like that. Nothing more.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

Robin Hood asked Clara Oswald what she knew of the Doctor. When he revealed what he learned from her, the Doctor said that she shouldn't have said that. The impression I received from the conversation was that the Doctor expected Clara to keep certain things said between them.

When Danny described the Doctor as being aristocratic, the Doctor didn't refute the description.

It is the centennial of the First World War. Why is this important? One of the beliefs held about this war was that brave soldiers would follow the orders of their leaders, even to their own slaughter. "Lions led by donkeys". The last season of Blackadder and Oh, What a Lovely War! popularized this notion. I wonder how much of this is filtering into Doctor Who.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lions_led_by_donkeys

There are references to the earlier Classic Doctor Who, when the Doctor said the robot was attracted to the high level of artrons in the area of Coal Hill School. Three stories are set in and around Coal Hill School.

There are so many questions about this robot.

1.) Why was it so programmed so badly? Military personnel are trained not to shoot at a moving target; they are trained to shot at where the target will be. This robot was shooting at where the target was.
2.) The robot was controlled by an artificer. The Doctor impersonated an artificer, rather effectively. Who sent the robot to 21st century Earth? Whoever sent the robot, they had to know of the history of the Coal Hill School. (Will this be explored in a future episode?)
3.) How did the Doctor learn about the robot?

We have only the word of the Doctor that the robot was a threat to humanity. The robot's actions proved it was less of a threat.

It is implied in one of the episodes, I think the Sarah Jane series, that Ian Chesterton hasn't aged since the 1960s. So, seeing an aged Chesteron would contradict that. I am glad that there was no cameo.

 

[diankra]

Oh, What a Lovely War!

If - and that's a maybe - it can be found online anywhere, check out The Long Long Road.
It's a BBC radio documentary about the songs of the World War One soldiers, made in the early 1960s which then formed the basis for Oh What a Lovely War, and was perhaps the start of looking at the conflict from the point of view of the soldiers rather than the generals.
It was written and produced by a BBC writer/producer called Charles Chilton as a way of making contact with his father, who died in the WW1 trenches when Charlie was still a baby.
Chilton's other credits include producing some of The Goon Show, and writing/producing Journey into Space, the immensely influential 1950s BBC radio SF series which was the last radio series to get a bigger audience than television.
He died maybe three years ago; about 20 years ago I had the honour of interviewing him, and I suspect he's probably the nicest, brightest and most interesting person I'll ever meet.

 

[Doctorwhovian]

Regarding the boyfriend thing, the Rory friendship was in many ways the flipside of how the Doctor treated Mickey; The Doctor seemed OK with Rory from the start, even in Vampires In Venice giving them a 'date' after Amy put the moves on him; while Rory was the jealous one most of the time.


Not that there was at least some attraction from him; the Dream Lord notes as much.

 

[Mr Awe]

Honestly, why would William Russel be in a story like this? He's an 80 year old member of the schools board of directors. I still hope he turns up, but this didn't seem like the right story for it.

This would be exactly the right type of story for a cameo. In a fun moment, he could be at the parent conferences, making intros, or what not, and have a few fun lines with the Doctor.

The last thing I'd expect is for him to have a larger role in a more serious, action oriented story.

Missed opportunity.

Mr Awe

I can't see them having a former Companion without that person playing a meaningful role in the solution to the episode. Certainly, I couldn't see him being oblivious to the action going on behind his back like the Headmaster was. When two people go running off to get to the Doctor, he's just going to ignore that?

No, that's not what I mean. Just that he doesn't have to play a large role. I wouldn't expect someone of William Russell's advanced age to do a lot. Just the reality.

Mr Awe

 

[Guy Gardener]

I can imagine that the "Caretaker" found a few bullet holes left over from the last time he was there and spent some time with putty and plaster cleaning the place up.

The basement used to be a Dalek transit hub.

That sort of radiation had to have really soaked into the walls.

You'd think that evidence of Dalek Activity would either be something the Skovox would be instantly attracted to or avoid at all costs.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I personally liked that they didn't beat us over the head with continuity references to the other episodes set in this school. I think the fact that it's the same school is enough of a nod to the show's past. Gratuitous mentions of previous stories would've been superfluous, to my mind. Sometimes, less is more.

Oh, I agree. But I still would have enjoyed a direct reference to Ian or Barbara. Or even Susan. I'm not heartbroken they didn't do it, but it would have been nice.

Yeah, I know what you mean. It might have been more appropriate than the River reference, with hindsight.

Speaking of that I have a hard time imagining the Capaldi Doctor and River Song together.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

I liked this one. Second episode of the season I've liked so far after the Robin Hood one.

Capaldi REALLY works as the Doctor in comedic moments. I loved the janitor bits and "You've just put another coat on!" made me LOL (as did the Doctor's approval of the other teacher he thought wasClara's boyfriend. It also covered ground that needed to be covered regarding Danny and Clara and her relationship with the Doctor, though I have to say I expected more from their "talk."

Yes, she did love the Doctor; she lied to Danny a bit there. It was strongly hinted in the last series and she said as much in the short prelude to "The Name of the Doctor." What she should've done is just be honest and said "I did...but then he changed," and then told Danny about regeneration, etc. I also expected the Time War to come up. It didn't. If Clara and Danny have more talks in future episodes, it should. Or the Doctor can tell Danny himself that he was once a soldier.

I'm missing the chemistry that Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman had. It doesn't seem like they're exploring the new dynamic enough that Clara could have with Twelve. Aside from the "I am sooo confiscating that watch" line (which also made me LOL) I think a little bit more attention should be placed on how Clara can't charm this new Doctor like she used to, and the subtle changes in their relationship should contribute to her eventual exit in my opinion, not forced angst over Danny Pink.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

This would be exactly the right type of story for a cameo. In a fun moment, he could be at the parent conferences, making intros, or what not, and have a few fun lines with the Doctor.

The last thing I'd expect is for him to have a larger role in a more serious, action oriented story.

Missed opportunity.

Mr Awe

I can't see them having a former Companion without that person playing a meaningful role in the solution to the episode. Certainly, I couldn't see him being oblivious to the action going on behind his back like the Headmaster was. When two people go running off to get to the Doctor, he's just going to ignore that?

No, that's not what I mean. Just that he doesn't have to play a large role. I wouldn't expect someone of William Russell's advanced age to do a lot. Just the reality.

Mr Awe

My point is I can't imagine him fitting in without making a dramatic impact on the script.

I agree his role doesn't have to be big, it doesn't have to be athletic, but it has to be impactful or else it shouldn't happen at all. I can think of plenty of ways to do it, none of which require athleticism in any way.

 

[M.A.C.O.]

The question of race in Doctor Who is a complex one and we've discussed it here in this forum a couple of times. I've been thinking about it again more recently while watching the Davison era which is incredibly white, yet deals with colonialism a lot. It certainly deserves its own thread.

While I can see how the role of POCs in this episode can come across as upsetting now that it's been pointed out I believe that it wasn't intended that way. On the contrary, it seems to me that Doctor Who (its modern incarnation, mind you) strives to show diversity in its cast. Due to the current Doctor and companion being white this leads to many of the supporting roles being played by non-white actors and actresses. Not all of those roles are complimentary. However, generally the show shows blacks in a variety of roles, jobs and levels of society. This episode also featured a black maths teacher saving the Doctor and Clara from being killed and the world.

The Doctor (in the new show) tends to dislike people he suspects to be his companion's boyfriends (e.g. Adam, Mickey) at first. In this case, the Doctor couldn't imagine a soldier being anything else than a PE teacher. His race didn't play any role. The dialogue made that very clear. I admit that the connection is very unfortunate, though.

At the end of the episode, the Doctor admits that he was wrong about Danny. The Doctor isn't always right and he isn't always entirely good. That's also true of the old show.

Something I would like to add is the Doctor's reaction to the man he thought was Clara's BF. The white teacher with the bowtie. The look on the Doctor's face indicated he took an immediate liking to him, even though he hadn't exchanged words with him. The subsequent revelation that Danny was Clara's bf, displayed the Doctor as being in denial. This unintentionally fans the flames of racism, IMO. The Doctor is rude and condescending to Danny after one conversation in the courtyard and this lasts through the end of the episode. The 12th Doctor has made his prejudice against soldiers in this season quite clear. But from an audience standpoint, some of that bias may have factored Danny's race in to the equation. With the episode ending with Danny telling Clara in front of the Doctor "That he needs to be good enough for you" (Clara). Danny has to prove he is worthy of Clara to gain his approval. Something the white teacher with the bowtie presumably did not need to do.


Now granted this has more to do with the Doctor disliking Clara dating soldiers than Clara dating a black guy. Which is probably why the Doctor mistook the man in the bowtie for Clara's bf, since he was not a soldier. BUT it does form an uncomfrotable pattern when you look at how the Doctor treated Mickey and Martha. Martha had to prove herself before getting a TARDIS key in "42". Mickey had to prove himself not useless during "WWIII", in order to gain acknowledgement from the Doctor. But even then Mickey was mostly tolerated until "Doomsday" and Martha was still the "not-Rose" companion from "Human Nature" to "The Sound of Drums when the Doctor had to rely solely on Martha to pull of the victory in "Last of The Time Lords".

 

[Mr. Adventure]

^ The joke is the man in the bowtie reminded him of himself (more specifically, his previous self) which is why he was so sure that was the man Clara was in love with.

 

[Mr Awe]

I can't see them having a former Companion without that person playing a meaningful role in the solution to the episode. Certainly, I couldn't see him being oblivious to the action going on behind his back like the Headmaster was. When two people go running off to get to the Doctor, he's just going to ignore that?

No, that's not what I mean. Just that he doesn't have to play a large role. I wouldn't expect someone of William Russell's advanced age to do a lot. Just the reality.

Mr Awe

My point is I can't imagine him fitting in without making a dramatic impact on the script.

I agree his role doesn't have to be big, it doesn't have to be athletic, but it has to be impactful or else it shouldn't happen at all. I can think of plenty of ways to do it, none of which require athleticism in any way.

It would be cool if it was all you describe. I'm not against that. But, I'd still like it even if it were just a brief cameo. It doesn't have to be grand for it to be a good thing to happen! If it happens to be grand, that's cool too. But not required.

Mr Awe

 

[Alidar Jarok]

^ The joke is the man in the bowtie reminded him of himself (more specifically, his previous self) which is why he was so sure that was the man Clara was in love with.

Yeah, the whole point was non-soldier bowtie guy vs. soldier. But couldn't help notice the almost certainly unintentional racial implications.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

^ The joke is the man in the bowtie reminded him of himself (more specifically, his previous self) which is why he was so sure that was the man Clara was in love with.

Yeah. You have to be trying hard (too hard) to think of racism in what was an obvious joke due to the guy's resemblance to the Eleventh Doctor.

 

[Count Zero]

^ The joke is the man in the bowtie reminded him of himself (more specifically, his previous self) which is why he was so sure that was the man Clara was in love with.

Yes, but that also plays into a racist undercurrent of the episode unintentionally. "Othering" is an integral part of structural discrimination (not just against people of colour but also women or gays). People tend to approve more easily of people who look and are like them. One could see the other teacher as the perfect embodiment of this. It could almost be a very clever and subtle allegory but I'm pretty sure it was unintentional.

As for Mickey, let's not forget that it was strongly implied that both Nine and Ten had a romantic interest in Rose so they regarded him from that perspective and naturally found him wanting compared to themselves. I don't think it would have played out differently if Mickey had been white (see Ten's reaction to the King of France in "The Girl in the Fireplace" as a reference). He wasn't white because the new show made an effort to be diverse (also including LGBT people). This striving to be diverse is also very palpable in RTD's "The Sarah Jane Adventures".

Martha also suffered from the Rose syndrome. It took her nearly being killed in "Gridlock" for the Doctor to realise that he only saw her as a substitute for Rose and not a person of her own. Again, I don't believe we were meant to see that as a good trait of the Doctor. Martha's tenure was also the first time racism was directly adressed (how well remains a point of contention, of course).

I hope I'm not coming off as belittling the concerns being raised. But to me Doctor Who is a show that actually tries quite hard to be diverse in its cast and characters. It doesn't always succeed and there is stuff that can be interpreted in a racist way. That's because structural racism and discrimination is real. It's hard to get away from it and it often leads to the unintentional reproduction of racist stereotypes.

 

[DWF]

^ The joke is the man in the bowtie reminded him of himself (more specifically, his previous self) which is why he was so sure that was the man Clara was in love with.

Yeah, the whole point was non-soldier bowtie guy vs. soldier. But couldn't help notice the almost certainly unintentional racial implications.

I got the feeling that the Doctor though Danny was lying about being a mere Math teacher and wrote him off, but the other teacher was into Shakespeare which earned him major points with the Doctor.

 

[Velocity]

The Doctor is a little jealous of Clara's obvious desire to get back in time for her dates with Danny. In the earlier show when Clara was getting used to the Doctor's new appearance he told her that he wasn't her boyfriend and she said she knew that, but he was kind of trying to convince himself by what he said sotto voce. When Clara said that she loved Danny, the Doctor looked a little taken aback. He wanted to make sure she was ok, but he was a little jealous, too.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Is it possible that the TARDIS' telepathic circuits were substituting the word "maths" for "PE" because her relationship with Clara is complicated?

William would be fine, and will be fine.

He played a Security Guard in An Adventure in Space and Time last year, and stars in 3 or four Big Finish audio stories a year where it's almost impossible to tell that he's not 35 any more.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Wasn't he doing PE with the students in his first appearance? Not that keeps him from being a math, er maths, teacher but he was teaching PE, no?