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mmoa_writes at 02:03pm on 13/05/2008
mmoa_writes at 02:03pm on 13/05/2008Some trivial angerage about the latest Dr Who episode.
*blows on fingers*
I think it's best if I try to sum up first that I didn't think the episode was too awful. I mean, the twist with the seven day battle? Liked! And Donna being mathematically literate? Score (especially considering how sceptical of Donna as Dr's assistant I was to begin with)!
But there were a few things about the plot that I just have to grouch about, because that's what I do best... and it is the sort of problem that always seems to recurr, so it's not entirely vindictive...
It really annoyed me, to start off with, that the battle should have been divided up between HathvsHuman lines. I mean, considering that we're talking about technologically/socially advanced races, and that the original argument was about who should take up the commanding roles, and not 'which species is da best', then it would have made more sense for either faction to have a Hath-Human population within itself. But they didn't, which made the whole scenario even more absurd (the whole premise that this violent war between two races that has swallowed 5000 generations in seven days originated because of a quibble over who takes charge). Not that absurd=bad, but there is absurd, and then there is, 'so odd I better not think too much about it or my brains will turn to plastic'.
The second, and really major, gripe was about the Legend concerning... the Source.
Oh come on! Not that I think a futuristic society will be incapable of mythologising an event in it's past, but with a 'Creator' and a mystical 'Source'? You've got to be kidding me. I mean, these are the same people who have cloning projects specific for designing soldiers: it's pretty hard to reconcile that military mentality with a penchant for theistic mythology (although to be honest, I've seen this tendency elsewhere in sci-fi/fantasy - it makes no sense for mythology from a modern, scientifically advanced society to have the same flavour as that of an ancient civilisation. Doing so simply demonstrates an assumption that all people think the same way and an unwillingness to accept that you know what, people really did think differently way back then).
But that's probably a more personal issue than not. There are a few other details, which I know were essential to the plot (which must unravel itself within 30 odd minutes), but could have been dealt with better nonetheless, like the fact that the data log could only be reached from the cental spaceship itself.
Um? Intranet, anybody? This is essentially a glorified military base we're talking about, and you mean to say that the original generation of colonists/soldiers were so worked up that they left important intelligence behind? In fact, if we didn't have to have a war between Human and Hath, an intranet system that would include info from the log book, accessed by the leaders of the various factions, wouldn't be a complete nonsense. Both sides (with Hath-Human population as I mentioned earlier) would be fully aware of what they were fighting for and we wouldn't have to deal with an improbable myth to fuel their aggression.
Bleargh. That's most of the important ranting done (I'm out of practise and my fingers hurt). I can deal with not liking the Dr's daughter 100% because that's just a personal reaction which is pretty irrelevant - why should I like a particular character? I also found the whole thing (mostly from Dr Who Confidential) about genocide really annoying (well, not annoying, just slightly puzzling. Probably because a fictional race in a fictional conflict undergoing speedy, quite kind deaths really doesn't hit my moral buzzer...). Unless it's for a deliberately malicious purpose, genocide really is no worse than killing lots of people of different races at all. Dear Mother Nature certainly has no qualms about it.
Oh, and have you heard? Einstein apparently though Judaism (and religion in general) a 'childish superstition'.
...
Do I really care? Anyone whose faith is based on what someone else thought of it, is a bit silly to my mind (including those atheists who just have to mention some sardonic, clever quip from some philosopher/scientist...). Certainly from an atheistic viewpoint, considering this is the same man who said that science without religion is meaningless, frankly, the theists who want him, can keep him.
Unfortunately, I doubt that New Scientist is going to agree, and watch next month's for some no doubt 'deep' article about science and (you guessed it) religion.
Oh, New Scientist... you're like a sexually attractive ex. I know I ought to hate you, but dammit, you still get the ol' ticker racing...
*blows on fingers*
I think it's best if I try to sum up first that I didn't think the episode was too awful. I mean, the twist with the seven day battle? Liked! And Donna being mathematically literate? Score (especially considering how sceptical of Donna as Dr's assistant I was to begin with)!
But there were a few things about the plot that I just have to grouch about, because that's what I do best... and it is the sort of problem that always seems to recurr, so it's not entirely vindictive...
It really annoyed me, to start off with, that the battle should have been divided up between HathvsHuman lines. I mean, considering that we're talking about technologically/socially advanced races, and that the original argument was about who should take up the commanding roles, and not 'which species is da best', then it would have made more sense for either faction to have a Hath-Human population within itself. But they didn't, which made the whole scenario even more absurd (the whole premise that this violent war between two races that has swallowed 5000 generations in seven days originated because of a quibble over who takes charge). Not that absurd=bad, but there is absurd, and then there is, 'so odd I better not think too much about it or my brains will turn to plastic'.
The second, and really major, gripe was about the Legend concerning... the Source.
Oh come on! Not that I think a futuristic society will be incapable of mythologising an event in it's past, but with a 'Creator' and a mystical 'Source'? You've got to be kidding me. I mean, these are the same people who have cloning projects specific for designing soldiers: it's pretty hard to reconcile that military mentality with a penchant for theistic mythology (although to be honest, I've seen this tendency elsewhere in sci-fi/fantasy - it makes no sense for mythology from a modern, scientifically advanced society to have the same flavour as that of an ancient civilisation. Doing so simply demonstrates an assumption that all people think the same way and an unwillingness to accept that you know what, people really did think differently way back then).
But that's probably a more personal issue than not. There are a few other details, which I know were essential to the plot (which must unravel itself within 30 odd minutes), but could have been dealt with better nonetheless, like the fact that the data log could only be reached from the cental spaceship itself.
Um? Intranet, anybody? This is essentially a glorified military base we're talking about, and you mean to say that the original generation of colonists/soldiers were so worked up that they left important intelligence behind? In fact, if we didn't have to have a war between Human and Hath, an intranet system that would include info from the log book, accessed by the leaders of the various factions, wouldn't be a complete nonsense. Both sides (with Hath-Human population as I mentioned earlier) would be fully aware of what they were fighting for and we wouldn't have to deal with an improbable myth to fuel their aggression.
Bleargh. That's most of the important ranting done (I'm out of practise and my fingers hurt). I can deal with not liking the Dr's daughter 100% because that's just a personal reaction which is pretty irrelevant - why should I like a particular character? I also found the whole thing (mostly from Dr Who Confidential) about genocide really annoying (well, not annoying, just slightly puzzling. Probably because a fictional race in a fictional conflict undergoing speedy, quite kind deaths really doesn't hit my moral buzzer...). Unless it's for a deliberately malicious purpose, genocide really is no worse than killing lots of people of different races at all. Dear Mother Nature certainly has no qualms about it.
Oh, and have you heard? Einstein apparently though Judaism (and religion in general) a 'childish superstition'.
...
Do I really care? Anyone whose faith is based on what someone else thought of it, is a bit silly to my mind (including those atheists who just have to mention some sardonic, clever quip from some philosopher/scientist...). Certainly from an atheistic viewpoint, considering this is the same man who said that science without religion is meaningless, frankly, the theists who want him, can keep him.
Unfortunately, I doubt that New Scientist is going to agree, and watch next month's for some no doubt 'deep' article about science and (you guessed it) religion.
Oh, New Scientist... you're like a sexually attractive ex. I know I ought to hate you, but dammit, you still get the ol' ticker racing...
(no subject)
(no subject)
...but it does seem to reiterate itself rather uselessly when it comes to religion and science (one of those topics I always feel isn't in itself worth the fuss and bother). Then the letters page gets all opinionated and rude and boring, and I sigh restlessly.
(no subject)