tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post1486983974310984875..comments2024-03-27T08:49:38.786-03:00Comments on Siskoid's Blog of Geekery: Doctor Who #388: The Ark in Space Part 1Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-24754382527054806712012-12-15T00:43:11.483-04:002012-12-15T00:43:11.483-04:00Whenever I think of the Baker era, this is the ser...Whenever I think of the Baker era, this is the serial that comes to mind first. I distinctly recall first seeing it one Saturday evening on PBS (in Atlanta, GA) and deciding that I liked this new doctor very much.Boosterrifichttp://www.boosterrific.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-66544906881506898122012-12-14T15:16:01.870-04:002012-12-14T15:16:01.870-04:00If we go back to one of the original revolutions, ...If we go back to one of the original revolutions, sure, but closer in time, he's forever siding with the people who put an end to the British Empire.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-22794163511637584202012-12-14T14:42:53.447-04:002012-12-14T14:42:53.447-04:00Generally, though (once things get a bit more sett...Generally, though (once things get a bit more settled in), Baker's positives are going to involve a rebellion or revolution. ("Go and Meet with the local rebels, whether or not there was any indication that such a thing existed in episode one" becomes the standard episode two during his run.)<br /><br />It makes him almost, well, American...Jeff R.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-44271499416736872712012-12-14T07:56:59.356-04:002012-12-14T07:56:59.356-04:00There was definitely a loss of empire theme in the...There was definitely a loss of empire theme in the Pertwee era, in stories like The Mutants, Invasion of the Dinosaurs, and others. Pertwee's Doctor was an Edwardian/Victorian gentleman adventurer, one you might have imagined in stories taking place at the height of the British Empire.<br /><br />Tom Baker's Doctor is a bohemian in dress and spirit, and doesn't represent any kind of Imperial values to me, at least not yet. It's a return to the anarchy professed by Troughton's.<br /><br />By the new series, this kind of thing will be about the British can-do spirit, surviving the World Wars, etc. and less about Empire. Not a Brit either, but that's my take on it from across the pond.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-57421928645545933562012-12-14T07:38:38.162-04:002012-12-14T07:38:38.162-04:00I'm not British, so I can only speculate how i...I'm not British, so I can only speculate how it feels to run an empire that fell from spanning the globe to nearly nothing in about 50 years. But I wonder if Pertwee and Baker are expressing something of the ambivalent attitudes about British imperialism: Pertwee is about the negatives (violence to other peoples e.g. the Silurians) while Baker is about the positives (we can do anything, including ruling the world AND making the world better for its peoples).<br /><br />I don't imagine there was any deliberate intent along those lines, but if those views are rattling around inside the writers' heads somewhere, they will eventually find expression.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com