Value Subtracted @ ValueSubtracted @startrek.website

[Mastodon](https://mstdn.ca/@ValueSubtracted)

---

Read more

Posts

2,445

Comments

2,626

Joined

2 yr. ago

Moderating

---

That quote is...really something. RTD has a habit of overexplaining things to the point of incomprehensibility, but that takes it to a new level.

I do think the basics of what he's getting at ring true - they certainly struggled a bit with "how much sexism should the Thirteenth Doctor encounter," and "how much racism should the Fifteenth Doctor encounter?" They both probably should have encountered more than they did, but if the story isn't about that, you run the risk of derailing the entire story. But if you include it "casually," as just a fact of the world, as they did in this case...that's not necessarily better. But maybe it's still worthwhile?

I don't think there's a right answer, but RTD sure managed to find a wrong one.

On this topic, I was certainly laughing right along with the show's depiction of Mickey-as-a-murder-suspect, but that has unsettling racial implications on its own, if you really interrogate the idea.

Hopefully, this launch will go without major hitches. Canada Day week is probably a good time to do it, since there will be fewer commuters.

Elbows way, way down.

Oh boy, it's the one with the farting aliens.

I don't care for this one at all. It's a very pure expression of RTD's "kid-friendly" vision of Doctor Who, but...it makes it kid-friendly by featuring farting aliens. No thanks.

But there's still good stuff! Pretty much everything about Rose's return is pretty great. Jackie's anger and relief after Rose has been missing for a year, Mickey's status as a suspected murderer, all good stuff. We get to meet Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North, who's always a delight. We get to see UNIT, still with "United Nations" in their name. We also get to meet Toshiko Sato.

The broad strokes of the plot are interesting. A crashed UFO, faked by aliens not as a diversion, but as a trap for the council of Big Brains that would immediately convene. I like that a lot. I also liked the way the Doctor immediately drops his dismissiveness of Ricky Mickey as soon as he says something intelligent.

But at the end of the day, those farting aliens are always going to be there.

I didn't say that.

I would probably go with "whatever was the most recent release," so West is canonical, but his identity as the would-be assassin is not?

Which I prefer, to be honest - having the Klingon be a Klingon helps to reinforce this as a cross-faction conspiracy.

Some traditions need to be upheld.

Some picks were exchanged yesterday, but it's been pretty quiet.

30 seconds later

EDM @ WPG

Well, that was a little too close for comfort. It looks like the Elks might be able to figure something out if their O line improves.

They've already passed it unamended.

What do you mean, you've seen this? It's brand new...

Yeah, every analysis of the RCMP I've ever seen seems to agree that the elimination of their local policing responsibilities has got to be the first priority.

Willson, a LaSalle, Ont. native who played eight seasons as a tight end in the NFL, performed sideline analysis during Friday night’s game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Toronto Argonauts. The 35-year-old later took to social media to post a long, critical note that has since garnered almost 300,000 views.

In the message, Willson called the game “hot garbage,” citing the high number of penalties and quarterback sneaks, Saskatchewan being awarded a point after missing a 33-yard field goal, Toronto’s high number of late-game check-down passes, an overall lack of deep throws, and the Argonauts being short a man on Mario Alford’s last-minute 99-yard return touchdown. He also accused the league itself and members of the media of telling “bold face lies” in order to “protect the game.”

Hell of an analyst y'all found, TSN.

Yeah, for quite a long time - I would guess at least eight months of lane closures while they took down the barriers.

Huh, it's apparently a Canadian thing. I didn't even realize.

Quite honestly, it's not a very common term here, either. One of those things that I see in print, but never hear people say out loud.

the story sacrifices all its complexity by making the Gelth generic evil monsters.

Oh, good call!

I didn’t really like the cgi, even considering it’s a couple decades old.

I was originally going to comment on how much I liked it...but then the humanoid Gelth showed up, and looked pretty awful.

But I did like the earlier, wispy stuff, which reminded me of old-school hand-drawn animation.

This one is pretty average. Not great, not bad?

It serves to establish the time travel rules for new viewers - the past can be changed! Just because you know what 2005 looks like, you shouldn't assume it will look like that next time you visit.

The Doctor's edginess continues, turning on a dime to snap at Charles Dickens (and eventually turning back to apologize), and making it clear that he's perfectly willing to let the Gelth inhabit dead humans - it's like recycling!

I don't think the Gelth themselves hold together very well. They're stated to be gaseous, but they act more like stereotypical "non-corporeal" life forms for the most part. But the climax hinges on them being "drawn out" by the gas from the gaslights, so I guess they're attuned to that specific mixture, rather than a standard nitrogen/oxygen mix? Not really the sort of thing we should dwell on.

Of course, this episode also establishes the Cardiff rifts, and introduces us to Eve Myles, which will be important soon-ish.

It's modern fandom, so...probably.