How can a Dalek have a conscience?
Dr Who's forthcoming Christmas Special will have an anti-war theme, and the show's right-wing fans are not amused. Here's one comment I saw on a blog lost somewhere in the vastness of cyberspace:
This kind of limp-wristed, PC propagandist tone has completely ruined the otherwise quite impressive new Dr Who. The WMD analogy, mentioned above, was bad enough but the sight of a Dalek having a crisis of conscience? Daleks don't have consciences, they're the embodiment of evil, that's their point and their appeal. Doubtless when the Cybermen make their inevitable reappearance we'll be exploring the 'root causes' of Cyberman discontent and the way it has engendered militancy - I imagine they'll find a way of blaming it on the Spiders of Metebelis 3 as well.
I must say one of my favourite Doctor Who series was 'The Genesis of the Daleks' - I was intrigued by the character of Davros, who was a sort of decrepit and embittered humanoid who created the Daleks so that his besieged race could survive and prosper. He ended up, of course, being destroyed by his own creation, giving us the classic lines:
'Please, show mercy'
'MER-CY...MER-CY...I AM NOT PROGRAMMED TO SHOW MER-CY...EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!'
Or words to that effect (it's a long time ago...)
I was a bit disappointed by the new Doctor Who, but now I'm quite looking forward to that Christmas Special (which we'll probably get by Christmas 2006 down here).
This kind of limp-wristed, PC propagandist tone has completely ruined the otherwise quite impressive new Dr Who. The WMD analogy, mentioned above, was bad enough but the sight of a Dalek having a crisis of conscience? Daleks don't have consciences, they're the embodiment of evil, that's their point and their appeal. Doubtless when the Cybermen make their inevitable reappearance we'll be exploring the 'root causes' of Cyberman discontent and the way it has engendered militancy - I imagine they'll find a way of blaming it on the Spiders of Metebelis 3 as well.
I must say one of my favourite Doctor Who series was 'The Genesis of the Daleks' - I was intrigued by the character of Davros, who was a sort of decrepit and embittered humanoid who created the Daleks so that his besieged race could survive and prosper. He ended up, of course, being destroyed by his own creation, giving us the classic lines:
'Please, show mercy'
'MER-CY...MER-CY...I AM NOT PROGRAMMED TO SHOW MER-CY...EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!'
Or words to that effect (it's a long time ago...)
I was a bit disappointed by the new Doctor Who, but now I'm quite looking forward to that Christmas Special (which we'll probably get by Christmas 2006 down here).
posted by maps at 12/16/2005 04:56:00 pm
1 Comments:
I shan't spoil the Xmas Doctor Who special for you, but it was anti-war and anti-Blair in particular in a very direct and viceral fashion - which was nice.
I think it is part of a longer running battle between the BBC and the Blair regime which had gagged it somewhat in the aftermath of the Iraq war (sacking Greg Dyke etc)...
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