{"id":235624,"date":"2013-12-27T05:13:14","date_gmt":"2013-12-27T05:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2013\/12\/27\/the-doctors-dilemma-in-the-waters-of-mars-as\/"},"modified":"2013-12-27T05:13:14","modified_gmt":"2013-12-27T05:13:14","slug":"the-doctors-dilemma-in-the-waters-of-mars-as","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2013\/12\/27\/the-doctors-dilemma-in-the-waters-of-mars-as\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Doctor\u2019s dilemma in [The Waters of Mars], as in so many of the best of Davies\u2019 episodes, was a moral one. It wasn\u2019t a problem that could be solved by being clever or using the sonic or the TARDIS to fix everything. There was no winning scenario\u2014the Doctor had to choose the best of two bad outcomes and it hurt to watch him do it. It made us hurt for him, which made us love him all the more. The Doctor knows what fixed points in time are, so can he refuse to save Pompeii? Should he have prevented the Dalek race from ever being born? Was it wrong to destroy the Racnoss, or was it just wrong to take steely pleasure in it? Was it wrong to depose Harriet Jones? There\u2019s a moral question like that underpinning all the best of Who.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s very little of this exploration in Moffat\u2019s Who, which creates an Eleven who is that arrogant, dangerous Time Lord Victorious from the end of \u201cWaters of Mars.\u201d He doesn\u2019t have moral dilemmas, he\u2019s not bothered about the consequences of his actions, he doesn\u2019t even pause long enough to worry about the people who might get trampled under his feet or feel bad when innocent bystanders end up as collateral damage. Consider the particularly nauseating example of the solution to the Silence infestation of Earth in \u201cDay of the Moon\u201d: humans being hypnotoaded into being weapons of niche destruction. Perhaps it\u2019s a testament to the vividness of his storytelling, but think about what Moffat has created here: in that world, thanks to the Doctor, every time you or I turn around we might feel a compulsion to splatter open a skull. There\u2019s very little to love about a character with so much power who wields it so carelessly.<\/p>\n

Part of what\u2019s so maddening is that Moffat often has the opportunity to explore the moral dilemmas right in front of him and refuses to do anything with it. If there\u2019s a consequence to the Eleventh Doctor\u2019s behavior, Moffat\u2019s hiding it inside a strangely constructed Rubik\u2019s Cube, and we\u2019re no longer convinced he isn\u2019t more interested in playing with the puzzle than finding what\u2019s inside.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For Whom the (Cloister) Bell Tolls, Or Why We Hope Steven Moffat\u2019s \u2018Doctor Who\u2019 Is An Island<\/em><\/strong> – TVBacon [x<\/a>] (via youholdthewater<\/a>)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Doctor\u2019s dilemma in [The Waters of Mars], as in so many of the best of Davies\u2019 episodes, was a moral one. It wasn\u2019t a problem that could be solved by being clever or using the sonic or the TARDIS to fix everything. There was no winning scenario\u2014the Doctor had to choose the best of … <\/p>\n

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