Spoilers Dot and Bubble grade and discussion thread

[jaime]

There was white on white racism in Genesis mirroring German vs. Jewish, as each side assumed that the Harry and Sarah and Four was the enemy or a muto.

Remember day one: "You can't be an alien, you sound northern!"

The Draconians did not like humans and were confused when three claimed to be Draconian Royalty.

Clara freaked out when he regenerated, so that's actual timelordism.

I can definitely think of times there was prejudice thrown his way. (Like I said earlier, this isn’t the first time, but it is written/played like it’s the first time, and the first time it’s been about an appearance of ethnicity.) I’ve never seen the Draconians on screen outside of Dimensions In Time, so only have my Target memories to go by. I should revisit the Pertwee era. Especially as the finale apparently features a Pertwee allegedly.

 

[jaime]

I think that we're stumbling over a similar difference of opinion to that which comes up when we discuss Star Trek depicting 21st century issues in the 24th-or-whatever century - if you're more invested in the in-universe reality, you're likely to raise the objection that racism we would recognise from 2024 Earth being more or less the same in 2367 Moorpak IV doesn't make sense. If you're more invested in Star Trek as a vehicle for morality plays with contemporary relevance, you're more likely to find it positive that present day issues are reflected back to us from that fictional setting.

I'm quite firmly in the latter camp - the Doctor is now a black British man and to me, if we danced around the fictional universe without that having any relevance at all, we're doing a disservice to the reality in which the show is being made. And previous handwaves like 10's line to Martha did just that (despite that being one of my favourite episodes - the reality that there were black people in Shakespearean London was right there, too). RTD has matured since then. I'm just not that interested in a carefully designed documentary about what being a millennia old timelord on alien worlds would really be like, I want to watch stories that matter to us, now.

The cliché is that sci-fi is always really about the time in which it is written - to me, that's a mission statement as well an observation. The best sci-fi makes you pause and think about the time in which it is written - and this episode clearly did that. Throwing us a "phones are bad mkay" cover so we could entirely miss what was happening underneath if we were so inclined. Sci-fi doesn't always have to reach for metaphor to make its point, they did racism as actual racism. And this Doctor knew them to hate him and offered them grace anyway. Perhaps what he said is true - he's done his healing since 12.

This episode might have needed another pass on the details of the plot, I'm still unclear as to exactly why they were being eaten in alphabetical order, but the actual ideas underneath it I liked a lot and were well presented.

I think Who can be both at once without breaking anything. It just needed more bedding in, and the ending needed room to breathe and an in-character reaction to events. We’ve already seen how breaking the character to suit the writing can affect perception of an era — Six and Thirteen really took a hit to that.

 

[Steve Roby]

Looking back, I'm increasingly convinced Lindy and these young people aren't even human.

On the one hand, lots of planets have a north. On the other, I doubt many planets have "Itsy-Bitsy Teenie-Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini."

On the subject of racism... no, I didn't pick up on it right away. But I'm a cis het white male neurotypical able-bodied Canadian with a job, a home, and soon enough a pension. And I wonder if RTD was making a subtler point than a lot of people think. There are a lot of things that the average white person won't think of as racist... but someone who isn't white won't have the same reaction. See: microaggressions, intent isn't magic, "you people," etc. Racism isn't just about "kill all those people." It's also "Is this your car, sir?" "So where are you from? No, not Halifax, where are you from?" People having the privilege of not knowing that racism was the point of the episode could well be the point RTD was making. Whether he's that subtle is, of course, up for debate.

 

[Guy Gardener]

If they were human, then why did they have blue blood?

Remember how the Soviets used to have fake small town America's to train their covert agents?

 

[Redfern]

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I really get a kick from the reaction/reviews by "Sesska". She jumped into the revival series (I think with Matt Smith) around 6 years ago and has been catching up with entire series, both revival and classic ever since. She wears her emotions openly on her sleeves and often yells at the screen as though the characters might hear her. (She nearly blew out the speakers for my PC when K-9 finally debuted in "The Invisible Enemy"! ) Anyway, it was a trip watching her see this one. She had some choice words for Lindy and the others at the conclusion that likely demonetized her video!

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

If they were human, then why did they have blue blood?

Remember how the Soviets used to have fake small town America's to train their covert agents?

Where were they shown to bleed?
Or do you mean the slime/saliva that the slugs were leaving behind?

 

[Markonian]

Was good. Missed the ending, watched it later.
Love the vibrant colors.
Good episode.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Where were they shown to bleed?
Or do you mean the slime/saliva that the slugs were leaving behind?

bottom of the slug is a lighter brown that the body, and they do not leave a trail when we see them "walking".

This blue stuff is probably blood.

So, they are either bioengineered humans or aliens.

4 minutes 8 seconds in.

 

[Chakoteya]

On the one hand, lots of planets have a north. On the other, I doubt many planets have "Itsy-Bitsy Teenie-Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini."

Oh, you never know. After all, we've been broadcasting radio and TV signals into space for over a century already...

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

Oh, you never know. After all, we've been broadcasting radio and TV signals into space for over a century already...

If the Earth is ever invaded by a hostile alien race it'll be because of this.

 

[jaime]

If the Earth is ever invaded by a hostile alien race it'll be because of this.

As long as they bring recordings.

 

[Captaindemotion]

If the Earth is ever invaded by a hostile alien race it'll be because of this.

Pray god they never see Mrs Brown’s Boys

 

[Mr. Adventure]

If they were human, then why did they have blue blood?

Well they are all rich.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Love the vibrant colors.

Yes, quite the Wes Anderson vibe going on.

 

[Starkers]

It'll be ok, they'll just need us to provide an episode of Single Female Lawyer and we'll be good.

 

[Fantasy Lover]

I see what you did there

 

[Markonian]

It'll be ok, they'll just need us to provide an episode of Single Female Lawyer and we'll be good.

Ally McBeal reference?

 

[Starkers]

Ally McBeal reference?

Kinda

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[Richard Baker]

I still think it was more of a social clique issue but watching it again I can see the racism angle.

I find it refreshing though not being preached at for an entire show over and over again, #13 episodes were terrible about that.

 

[Snaploud]

Oh, you never know. After all, we've been broadcasting radio and TV signals into space for over a century already...

I'm betting they try to sell us back our own content as counterfeit Blu-Rays. We could get Doctor Who commentaries with real aliens providing the commentary.