tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6898928896662590807.post229282559681104332..comments2024-03-08T20:34:51.535+13:00Comments on The Truth Behind...: DW: A Christmas CarolJamas Enrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17764197426293692684noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6898928896662590807.post-81981386799464378432010-12-27T14:10:13.590+13:002010-12-27T14:10:13.590+13:00I liked the shark. It was used well, on multiple ...I liked the shark. It was used well, on multiple levels. First up this is _Doctor Who_, so it needs an obligatory monster. So we get a cool looking flying shark that gives the kiddies the scary chase scene in the bedroom, which is a very monstery plot function.<br /> <br />But then it gets used as a reason to go on a quest. ZOMG, we have to save the poor defeated shark! How? We'll go down and get a freezer unit for it, and that means we get to meet the pretty girl who sings to fish and who has only a few days left to live, which in turn leads into the boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boys turns into a bitter old man who *still* won't turn off the weather control machine. (And the Doctor probably should have expected a complication like that, because the universe has already resisted his attempts to change history before, when he went off the deep end with the Time Lord Victorius schtick in 'Waters Of Mars'.)<br /> <br />And in the end the shark gets used for a third purpose, as a symbol for regaining wonderment and happiness when it gets harnessed to pull the flying carriage again. Earlier the Doctor had marvelled at the prosect of flying fish ("I love new planets!"), and our toothsome friend re-adopts that theme of wonder. Flying fish are wonderful (they cause wonder) even if some of them are big predators that are also terrific (they provoke terror).<br /> <br />As for the Blinovitch Limitation effect... yeah, well. You and me and the rest of even-semi-hardcore-Who-fandom will obsess about it (maybe the Doctor has fitted out some type of paradox engine inside the TARDIS for Just Such An Emergency?). But the truth is that the 21C series has gone out of its way divorce itself from both strict continuity (at least two soft reboots: the Last Great Timewar occurring offscreen, and The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang at the end of last season) plus the repeated use of the convention that the rules of time are complicated and are not going to be explained to the audience (in short: wibbley-wobbley timey-wimey; in long: some points in history are fixed, others aren't and can be changed). Yes, I expect they will discard established rules if it makes for a better narrative. And in the long run: as long as that make DW a popular show with the mainstream audience, then this will be the right thing to do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com