Watching Stargate Universe and Caprica I was struck at how it always seems that our lead characters are scum. They are almost always driven by selfish needs and wants, without a real care for how they treat those they step on. I think of it as the Anti-trek philosophy, we're not going to work towards a greater good but on a we want so we have ideal. Now give us your sweets
Alright so it's art imitating life because, guess what, we're pretty much all a big bunch of selfish gits and that makes it more realistic. Still I don't like it, there is a fine line between rogue and villain. Han Solo in the first movie (IV:- A New Hope, if you're pedantic) takes his money and sods off. That makes him a bastard and a coward. Then he returns and saves the day, that makes you cheer because he's now a hero. Still you know he won't give the money back. That's why there is the big rant about who shot first. Han shoots first because he's a rogue, he isn't going to give Greedo half a chance. No honour whatsoever, but you love him because he does it for the right reasons. It might be a slippery slope, but that's what makes him more interesting than the goody two shoes who never forgets roses on his wife's birthday.
What does this have to do with the latest Doctor Who episode? Well everything really. What we have here is a spaceship that runs on perhaps the most monumentally heinous act imaginable because there was no other choice. A whole nation, a culture (what we have left of it) forced to chose between destruction and damnation. Literally. It's a monstrous choice and by making it everyone on the ship become monsters themselves. The Doctor's disgust at everyone is palatable, not least because we feel it too. The very idea of enslavement is something we got rid of centuries ago. To torture an innocent creature is horrifying. Still, in the story it's understandable, even if we can't condone it. It's a strong message.
The Doctor knows just how sticky a moral compass can get, he also knows just how slippery a slope you can fall down. He's seen it all and walks the razor's edge of the moral right. We admire him for that, amongst the horror and the darkness he is the beacon of light. He gets cut, every step of the way. Some people can't take it and leave him. Others get cut too deep and the wounds are there forever. That's the moral of this story, what it means.
It shows us that while the US grub around in the grottier parts of humanity, revelling in the dirt and filth in a desperate attempt to stay relevant we here in rainy ol' England acknowledge that side of life, but have grown past it.
I am stunned by the acting from the leads here, Karen Gillian does a wonderful turn as Amy Pond doing what a companion should: be an interesting and complex foil for the Doctor while providing us, the viewer, with exposition. When she makes a massive and potentially devastating mistake you wince, knowing the Doctor both already knew (or suspected) and would deal with it anyway. Then it hits you, she doesn't know him yet. Just like Martha she has no real idea just who she is travelling with.
This is the Doctor, he dug bones out of sand, carved them into chess pieces and challenged Evil itself to a game and won. Imprisoning it for thousands of years. This man saw the fall of Arcadia and is the sole survivor of a war that literately tore reality itself apart. He has seen empires rise and fall. Personally slew the king of the great Star Vampires and has faced the Devil, looking it in the eye as they tumbled into a Black Hole.
Thing is you can believe that, especially from Matt Smith's portrayal. As much as he plays the bumbling, mad, fool there's that hint of something deeper. A man who you would not cross. We saw a glimpse of that in the Eleventh Hour. Here we get something more. A sharp edge hidden under a woven tweed facade. This Doctor has hidden depths, but isn't afraid to use it. I have to admit I was a little flustered early on about him trading on his reputation. I'm glad to see him earning it. The fact that Matt Smith brings all this to the character is a very good sign indeed.
If I was asked to give it a score, however, it would have to be four out of five. As much as I loved it there were a couple of things that niggled me, then again we're still finding our feet. Everyone is still getting used to Matt and Karen and the real fun hasn't started yet, don't forget it took a couple episodes for everyone to get used to Tennent. New Earth (series 2's first episode) wasn't as good as this and it's the closest comparison we've got.
Oh and I have to note my favourite line of this episode... "Six hundred feet down, the heart of the ship. Must be Lancashire." Best part is the Doctor is talking about the mouth of a giant space monster. Ahh, I love being Lancastrian.
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