Good episode. Thought it handled the topic very well and very sensitive. Rosa came across the hero as she should, rather than the Doctor, which was a nice touch. Am really enjoying Bradley Walsh in the series too. Edit: Didn't realise tonight's writer was the first (to borrow a phrase from the article) person of colour to write for Doctor Who: https://www.blogtorwho.com/doctor-who-rosa-who-is-writer-malorie-blackman/
Nice to see just what this new incarnation of the show can do. I found it a relief that the episode treated the issue of racism with some sensitivity and intelligence, giving each of time travelers plenty of agency while taking none from the character of Rosa as compared to her historical counterpart. This seems to have been another somewhat expensive episode with the production team going all out to convey 1950s Montgomery. Also, nice to see the TARDIS console’s time column (or time crystal, but that phrase is already in use in real life) get some rising-and-falling action at the end.
I don't remember learning about either from school, most of what I know is from popular culture. Things might be different for later generations, or depending on where you grew up. I'm half Kashmiri, but grew up in an area of Sheffield where there were very few non white people. Yaz and Ryan are from a much more diverse parts of the city, and are younger than me (I'm the same age as Jodie Whitaker).
I honestly don't know. It's very much American history and the American civil rights movement, although I understand how ripples spread beyond America's borders. I wonder how big an event it's viewed as in say, South Africa ?
I don't think we learnt much about it: when I was at junior school, history pretty came down to Romans, Normans, Tudors and then we ruled most of the world, but let it go, and haven't some bits done well? But I'm a 50 Essex white male so other schools might have had a wider focus (the two Catholics who didn't attend assembly was as diverse as Meadgate got).
It was interesting that the writer put in a reference to Emmett Till near the beginning of the episode (Rosa Parks mentions it right after Ryan gets struck, "Do you know what they did to young Emmett Till?"). Emmett Till was a 14-year-old African-American who was visiting Mississippi and was lynched due to a claim by a white woman (who later admitted it was fabricated) that he had made unwanted advances towards her. I imagine it's a reference that Americans would recognize, but is much less known among non-Americans (who would have heard of MLK and Rosa Parks, but not Emmett Till) (Normally I'd provide a link to the appropriate Wikipedia page, but I'm not going to in this case, as it contains a graphic photo of Till's mutilated body. Till's mother wanted an open-casket funeral so everyone could see how horrible it all was. If you want to learn more, you can seach for it).
That was very, very good, i'm just not sure how many times I could rewatch it Very sensitively handled, a little heavy handed at times but when you've only got 50 minutes that's to be expected. I never thought I'd hear the P word on Dr Who, but it felt very natural for Yas to say it at that moment. Ryan calling Rosa and MLK by their full names was hilarious. I'm still not sure he's that great an actor but that moment was perfect. Glad Yas got more to do this week. As for Graham, I really wasn't sure about Walsh but week by week he's getting better and better. Jodie ontinues to be awesome, I think she maybe needs to tone down the sonic posing however! One think bothered me, Ryan zapping Kresko into the distant past, given the Doctor's disdain of guns, and the way she reacted to crane boy in TWHFTE, she seemed awfully relaxed about Ryan essentially killing someone.
I found the motivations of the guy from the far future extremely out of whack with what we've seen of that time period in earlier stories. And he really ties it all back to Rosa Parks? Ah well; it's useful for the plot. I did like the twist at the end when Graham realises that they are now tied into the order of events in that timeline. However, the ridiculous contrived shenanigans that led to them getting there were more suited to a children's TV show than Sunday evening viewing. The Doctor's final speech was very heavy handed on the "message" too. Remember when science fiction used to employ subtle allegory? Actually, forget I said that
I thought it was a really good episode, before the episode i was worried how they could do a monster and villain in this story and still keep the sensitivity that the situation needs, what it meant for the episode was that the bits relating to Rosa had a lot of emotional pull and left me at the end in pieces, im glad that for a family show it didn't hold the its punches about what was happening in Alabama at this time. I was however a bit confused about the villain, not sure how to spell his name, what was his motivation for all this ? I think we got a throw away line. But he just seemed to be there as a plot device rather than for any other reason, unless he returns at all, maybe he got teleported to be with Tim Shaw from the first episode
OK, that was pretty great, and different and interesting on several levels - it actually felt more like one of the better Trek social commentary episodes - doing a Quantum Leap plot - than like Dr Who. That said, however, it gave us a good mission statement and into to historical adventuring for the current TARDIS team, some good bits of winding up the villain for the Doctor, and some great music. (I'm in two minds about the song over the closing credits). It got the balance between being a drama, entertainment, and delivering a message, so that's really the only query over this season solved. If it had a flaw, it was having the random time traveller villain. He was totally unnecessary, and it would, I think, have been better as a pure historical, as the bus driver, cop, guy who hit Ryan, etc - in fact the society of the time - made good enough villains as was. Negatives.... Predictable in places - Chekhov's bus driver, etc.
Haven’t seen episode yet...but, just to drop in, yes we do learn it in school. I think I covered it in primary, then twice more in secondary, including reenacting the bus etc. I actually think we would be better off teaching it in schools with a wider focus...I.e making sure that British History is taught alongside it. (Roots was also shown in my secondary school, as an aside) It’s a very different history, with a different form of racism occurring, and integration occurring for very different reasons. I actually think it would do more good over here to talk about things like windrush, the Brixton riots, two-tone and Ska than constantly revisiting MLK, Malcolm X etc. Since we were also taught about the slave trade, there’s no reason why the lines can’t be shown to explain how the UK got its mix. (Not to mention, the NF scumbags just used roots as a source for more racist name calling.) There is radical difference between someone whose ancestors were chained in a boat and dragged across half a world to result in their being born in a land, and someone who came across the world from former colonies (sometimes colonies originally ‘founded’ by other nations...which is an even longer look at history) in the hope of a new life and having children and slowly but surely integrating into a culture not that far removed from their parents, grandparents et al (cricket teams are usually a dead giveaway from a cultural standpoint xD) History is complex, and it’s too easy to focus on certain areas to create a ‘them and us’ by accident, and a more detailed look is sometimes the best way. Not least as people will usually be surprised that there is no ‘them and us’ just a ‘we’, but not if we learn a fragmented, non-culturally relevant concept of history. Ironically, Who had a good handle on this with Ace years ago, and it was beautifully done with simple things here and there (Remembrance and Ghost Light had scenes and lines that paint a whole picture.) Anyway. Still dunno whether to look forward to the episode or not. Will check in afterwards.
Ah, just remembered why DenOfGeek didn't have a spoiler-free review - the chap who used to do them left the site last week, so probably no replacement bod lined up yet.
@Lonemagpie yes the Doctor basically showing Ryan how to use the gun was predictable. Ooh forgot to say, love the oblique Blakes 7 reference!
A fairly useless episode. Wow, racism is bad, and 1950s America was a terrible place? No shit. I can't wait until next week, when we meet special guest character Anne Frank I mean, I agree with the episode. Racism is bad, and white supremacists are very fucking evil. But, this still shouldn't be an episode of Doctor Who. Remembrance of the Daleks did this better, and that was a small subplot. Also, maybe don't have the stupidest, most hole filled villain plot possible? Seriously, who was this episode for? White Supremacists aren't going to stop being sacks of shit because Doctor Who pointed out that they're evil. Maybe its for English children who probably don't know Rosa Parks, but its not very relevant to British history is it? In any event it wasn't entertaining or memorable (outside of being uncomfortable in a super predictable way), but it is better then the last Nu Who message episode (the Zygon Two parter), because at least this didn't involve the Doctor actually almost disproving the supposed message of the episode by being in the wrong. 5/10, a completely average waste of 45 minutes with a message no sane person needs and no evil person would get swayed by, would never watch again even if its technically far from being one of the worst episodes of the franchise.
Krasko was the time travelling Jack the Ripper from Time After Time (Remake) last year... Who got top billing on IMDB, because he is the most famous person there this week. It would be cheeky, but there is no legal reason he couldn't still be Wells' friend Jack the Ripper again.
kirk, you do realize that Doctor Who was originally created as a tool to teach children about history, right? A concept that has carried through all the way until now, just in different ways each time. Oh, shit, I missed that! What was it?
How is it much different from episodes that covered other parts of history such as the Battle of Culloden, the Reign of Terror, the St Bartholomew Eve Massacre or the Shootout at the OK Corral?
Those events are more exciting and more appropriate to an adventure show. Plus, those weren't "message" episodes. Using a historical event is fine. Rosa Parks story isn't a story for a sci fi show, especially one meant to be entertaining. Its an important story no doubt, but being an important historical event doesn't always make it a good fit for a fictional show that is supposed to entertain. This isn't a non-fiction documentary series, not all historical events can or should be made into stories for a show that is meant to entertain people, hence my joke about The Doctor meeting Anne Frank.
Well, I liked that. It had some flaws -- the villain's motivation, the abrupt disposal of the villain, and the somewhat OTT use of the song near the end of the episode -- but if all it does is piss off any viewers who like to moan about PC SJWs, well, that's a worthwhile accomplishment. But it does more than that. It continues the storytelling style of the first two episodes, devoid of Moffat's convoluted and generally meaningless arcs, building up the characters and the relationships quite nicely, and maintaining that distinctive style of directing and filming that makes this series look and feel so much different from previous years. And it tosses in some continuity references to Stormcage and vortex manipulators. Boy, I wish Peter Capaldi had had a chance to have a season like this one is shaping up to be. No impossible girls or hybrids, just stories that treat the Doctor as a character rather than an archetype or caricature.
As Ryan said he set it to send him as far back as possible, he's probably dead either roasted by magma or dino chow.