Doctor Who: Rosa
Oct. 22nd, 2018 08:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
andrasteThe brief version of my opinion is that I thought the episode was good and avoided the obvious pitfalls, but I had one major problem with it: the villain. More specifically, his motivation. Oh, not his general motivation: he's a racist, and that doesn't require further explanation. However, I really would have liked to know why he chose this particular point in history to fuck with.
I feel like they either needed Krasko to be from much closer to our own time or provide some kind of explanation for why he cared about these specific events. It's not that I find the existence of 51st century racists especially unlikely, even if our glimpses of Jack and River's future haven't given any hints in that direction before. Unfortunately, there are bigoted arseholes in every era, and there could certainly be people in the future who still think in-groups and out-groups should be based on skin colour even though everyone else moved on millennia ago. But the idea of one that specifically objects to the American Civil Rights movement of the 20th century, and even more specifically to Rosa Parks, strained my credulity without any further context.
The 51st century is as far from the 20th as we are from the late Bronze Age. Even if he's got much better access to historical records of our time than we do of King Solomon and the Zhou Dynasty, I'd have liked to know how he fixated on this as the moment history went wrong for white supremacists. (For example: if you're upset about African-Americans getting equal rights, why not go back a century earlier and try to make sure the South wins the Civil War? If it's because this event is smaller in scale and therefore easier for one man to influence, well, it would be nice if the episode said that.) Even having the Doctor say 'wow, Rosa Parks is so amazing that jerks still hate her thirty centuries from now!' would have at least put a lampshade on it.
That issue aside: I enjoyed everything else, especially the team all working together like a well-oiled machine. I thought all the regulars gave great performances here - special props to the scene where Ryan meets Martin Luther King Jr. and has the most well-earned fanboy moment in front of a confused celebrity in Doctor Who history, and to the looks on Graham and the Doctor's faces when the realise they have to stay on the bus spoke volumes. The true highlight for me, though, was the lumious performance of Vinette Robinson as Rosa Parks. Fun fact: Rosa Parks is now the second historical figure to have an episode of Doctor Who that is named after her, assuming we count Marco Polo as a story title even though they didn't officially have them back then. (Hitler also gets name-checked in a title, but does not get to have an episode about himself, which is as it should be.)
The other thing I loved this episode is that it's clearer than ever that Chibnall really does mean to make Grace's death matter to the whole season. I still have mixed feelings about her being killed off in the first place, but the scene where Graham wishes she was there and Ryan points other that she'd have started a riot is great.
Other stuff: Ryan has learned nothing about pushing strange alien buttons and I love it. I find Graham's desire for regular meals even while trying to sort out weird arton energy readings in 1955 deeply relatable. I am very much looking forward to meeting Yasmin's family next week - she had some nice moments in this one, but I still want to learn more about her.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-10-23 11:06 pm (UTC)has the most well-earned fanboy moment in front of a confused celebrity in Doctor Who history
It really was! It was so endearing. He was so starstruck!
Vinette Robinson was amazing - what a challenging thing to face, and she pulled it off so well.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-10-25 12:49 am (UTC)I feel like if Doctor Who wants to do stories about futuristic space Nazis they have enough Daleks lying around. Do we actually need more???
It really was! It was so endearing. He was so starstruck!
I always smile when companions (and the Doctor for that matter) fanboy/girl over the celebrity of the week, but the moment Ryan realises ROSA PARKS would like him to hurry up and serve the coffee to MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. is definitely an outstanding example.
Vinette Robinson was amazing - what a challenging thing to face, and she pulled it off so well.
It's a fantastic part, and I'm glad she's getting so much well-deserved praise!