Macra? Macra? MACRA!?!?!?!

[snorkackcatcher]

A few musings on tonight's ... er, last night's episode of Dr Who under the cut.


Well, that was ... strange. I have to give credit to Russell T Davies -- at first I thought the 'trapped on the motorway for years' plot was just a really corny joke, but in the end it did turn out to make sense, for some value of 'sense'. On reflection, the plot was definitely interesting, even if it did seem to have more loose ends than the back of the Bayeux Tapestry and more holes than Blackburn, Lancashire.

But ... Macra? I went "YES!" when that cropped up, but that's because I was sad enough to recognise the name and background -- not only is it a reference to a Two adventure from the 1960s, it's a reference to a lost Two adventure called The Macra Terror which probably hasn't been seen since the 1960s (I came across it on the Doctor Who Scripts Project listing -- sounds like it was a good one). Obviously Davies is doing the fan thing (as with the truncated and much less effective appearance by the Nestenes in the first Nine episode, echoing the first Three serial). One of the loose ends/plot holes in the latest story was that those inspirational broadcasts that have the locals teary-eyed fit nicely with the plot of the Two serial in which the Macra are brainwashing a colony, but don't make a lot of sense if they aren't. (Yes, I know it could be considered a spoiler to mention them in the post heading, but frankly they're obscure enough and sufficiently secondary to the main plot of this episode for me not to really mind that.)

Incidentally, does anyone have a feckin' clue what the Face of Boe plotline is all about? Is it just that I've missed something vital? It's good to see episodes setting things up for later or being part of an arc of more than one episode, because that didn't happen all that often in classic Who -- offhand, all I can think of are odd things like the one-off Dalek Cutaway One episode setting up the lengthy Dalek Masterplan serial, and in the Three era Frontier in Space setting up Planet of the Daleks. I'm looking forward to seeing where the Doctor meets Queen Elizabeth I for the first time ... er, second time ... oh, whatever. One of the hazards of time travel. :)

Comments

[lazy-neutrino.livejournal.com]

I've got the Macra Terror on audio (because I'm sad enough to own audiocassettes of a few of the lost stories) but even so I didn't see it coming. (I did wonder if it might be Nestenes down there). Made sense, though.g

I thought this was the most SF-y of the recent scripts. The motorway was a genuinely interesting idea, although underdeveloped as usual. Nice echoes of a classic DW plot, too, where the 'terror from below' is not the only thing going on, even if what was 'going on' above had already happened. (And I would have preferred perhaps a Bliss drug that caused users to simply fade away rather than eat/drink, [because nothing real could compare to the drug], instead of the hideous mutating emovirus that we actually got, but there you go.)

Face of Boe - think he's going to be an angsty regular that dies every season, maybe with a different secret each time!? Maybe we're just coldhearted, but Iain and I thought he died last series, and also that his secret was profoundly unimpressive. I stand by my 'Master for series three finale' prediction, though.

(And to pick up a fandom - any fandom - trope - I'm a bit tired of all these Great Time Wars which obliterate all participants, except that everyone turns out to have survived. Daleks for breakfast, Daleks for lunch and now it looks ominously like Daleks for dinner.) The Time debacle, more like, from the Doctor's point of view.)

Sorry about the rambling. I'm feeling crabby :)

[snorkackcatcher]

And I would have preferred perhaps a Bliss drug that caused users to simply fade away rather than eat/drink, [because nothing real could compare to the drug

As in Larry Niven? Yeah, that crossed my mind too.


I stand by my 'Master for series three finale' prediction, though

Apparently the season finale is called 'Last of the Time Lords', so that's looking like a good bet. Although it might be amusing if it was Romana. :)

[lazy-neutrino.livejournal.com]

As in the species in Larry Niven that just 'left' after researching the afterlife? (my memory is a bit vague - long time ago. I used to like his detective stories - Gil Hamilton or something; ARM? There's a lot of good SF detective stuff out there.)

Apparently the season finale is called 'Last of the Time Lords'

Aha! We try not to look at stuff outside the series (we are still probably the only two people who don't know how Life on Mars ended...) though that's a handy bit of info to know. There's clearly some story arc around the word Saxon as well, which we spotted last series too.

Although it might be amusing if it was Romana. :)

Unless K9 has beeb keeping dark secrets?

I'd like to see a good Master again. As long as he's sufficiently intelligent. Of course, both Omega and Rassilon are kicking around as well. Or maybe Cardinal Borusa (spelling?) will come back and we will have a dull episode about the niceties of power games and management styles. Sort of Doctor Who meets The Office.

Can you tell term starts today and I don't want to go?!

[snorkackcatcher]

With Larry Niven, I was thinking of the drouds that stimulated the pleasure centres of the brain -- in one of the Gil Hamilton stories someone was killed by having one implanted and being wired to the mains, and being so happy he just starved. :)

I've been avoiding Life on Mars spoilers since I never actually watched the show, but after the rave reviews it's been getting it looks like I might have to at some point (with any luck the Beeb will repeat the whole thing from the start).


here's clearly some story arc around the word Saxon as well, which we spotted last series too

Funny you should mention that -- I hadn't realised that until I did a bit of browsing yesterday. One fansite pointed out that "Mister Saxon" is an anagram of "Master No Six" and five actors have already played the part -- make of that what you will. :)

[lazy-neutrino.livejournal.com]

Interesting.

As long as it's done well. The Master is a proper villain and I don't want him spoiled. Anyone who can shrink a man and hide him in his own lunchbox is a good bad guy!