Jael’s Judgment:
These Streets lyrics keep popping into my head whenever the new companion, Dodo, is addressed by name. After a mini-whirlwind of change, we seem to have settled on some semi-permanent companions. Steven… he’s OK, but a little annoying. He does not seem to think things through. He is a bit brash. And his hair is not great. I guess I can overlook all of that. Dodo, well, also a bit rough around the edges. I can overlook that as well, because at least she is a confident woman. Plus she does participate in my favorite moment of this story:
Dodo (to the Monoid), “What do you mean? Are you up to something?”
Monoid (pauses, looks at Dodo, then over his shoulder hesitantly at a guardian, and back to Dodo), “Uhhh de no.”
Just an all around wonderful moment.
Another like for this story; the bottom of the Monoid’s costumes. Very muppety.
They never really seem to make the Doctor concerned about being recognized as a Time Lord versus a human. The Doctor even includes himself with humans, referring to the humans as “us.” I find this odd and am interested to see how this progresses as we continue on with the Doctor’s journeys.
- Story Grade: B- (Specifically higher for the humor showing through in the Monoid character despite being entirely covered by their costume/hair.)
Tony’s Take:
Oh yes! My programming of my wife is complete!! Sure, I have taken Elliott Smith and Doctor Who from her, but she has in turn taken so much of my music and other media favorites. Case in point? THE STREETS! Jael said that she HATED them when I first played them (or more specifically, him, Mike Skinner). I absolutely love music, and I find three of The Streets’ albums to be top-notch LPs, from start to finish (Original Pirate Material, A Grand Don’t Come For Free, and Everything Is Borrowed).
Click the link in Jael’s write up for a link to a sampling of The Streets… and if this weren’t enough, how about Mike Skinner acting in “The Time of Angels”:
Maybe his involvement in Doctor Who helped his cause in my wife’s eyes, I don’t know, but I was beyond stoked when my two favorites (music and Who) joined forces not too long ago.
As for this story, it is very cool to see The Doctor and company visit a group of people in multiple points in their “time-stream”. The Monoids, a one-eyed furry humanoid, are kind of cool, and it’s easy to see why they are in power when The Doctor visits years later in their story. Having a history of racism and slavery in our country, this story is very easy to relate with. While those who were slaves in America never switched the roles and had power over their oppressors, it’s easy to see why the monoids made this switch.
I’d strongly recommend this story, The Doctor gets to save the day, negotiate and preach peace, and make use with time in this actually time travel story. Plus, the moment that Jael references above, the awkward monoid, is quite possibly the funniest unintentional moment in classic Who history.
- Story Grade: B
- A very fun story that utilizes time for one of the first times in the first Doctor’s run. Add on top of that the ideas about racism and slavery and you have an enjoyable and deep plot.
Thank you, Doctor Who, for getting my wife to enjoy The Streets’ music with me. Thanks also to the prop/design team, not only did you make up a great “monster” in the monoids, but the design of the Refusians is EPIC! You can tell that a lot of money went into the design of Refusian costume.
Doctor Who Reviews Done Couple-Style 