Some years ago a group of journalists began spreading a rumour that Umberto Eco did not write his books but constructed them be feeding random bits of information into a computer and allowing a randomised program do the rest[1]
This was obviously nonsense; Eco is nothing short of a genius. Yet I am reminded of the story simply because the accusation could be levelled at Moffat with considerable ease. Each story is constructed using the same plot devices and ends up repeating itself until the show is swallowed by its own anus. Even the latent sexism seems to be stuck in an endless loop of repetition (Churchill “what happened to time?” The Doctor “A woman” and “hell in high heels” etc)
This leaves one obvious problem, any attempt at rational criticism will have to repeat and repeat itself until it is as pointless and derivative as the show itself. In short there is nothing I can say that I have not already said before.
My suggestion, if anyone is reading this or actually cares, is to print out some of the below, cut them up into sentences (apologies, I know some of them are not great but dyslexia is an absolute arse at times) and then re-assemble them into a newly constructed article. I’m sure it will convey my general thoughts on the episode in question.
Perhaps the best thing I can do is quote the eleventh Doctor himself as a way to criticise the show.
“I sell toys. This is what I do now.”
Yes, rather sadly it really, quite literally, is.
[1] On a separate note... Almost as if the existence of cosmic karma is trying to prove its existence to me new novels by Christopher Priest, Haruki Murakami and Umberto Eco are being released within a few weeks of each other. This at least seems to balance out my heartbreak over the show and proves there are still writers out there who give a damn.
'My suggestion, if anyone is reading this or actually cares'
ReplyDeleteYes to both, your infrequent posts mirror my sentiments. Glad it's not just me.
Yes, you are not alone. The worst part of the episode to me has to be Amy showing up guns-a-blazing rat-a-tatting at the Silence and then murdering Kovarian. The show gives half a minute at the end of the episode for Amy to feel slightly guilty and gloss over it but it was never needed in the first place. Amy is a murderer, full stop. There should be no excuse for it. Rory should have stopped her killing Kovarian, you could see was troubled by it. What sort of message does it send to kids, to stand by and not comment when their friends are committing an evil act? It shows how far the morality and philosophy of Doctor Who have been compromised by Moffat.
ReplyDeleteThe episode was full of fanwanky cameos and elements thrown in because they looked cool, but lacked coherence and lacked meaningful commentary on our lives.