DW - Evolution of the Daleks
Apr. 30th, 2007 07:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mllelaurelFinally got this episode to play, after it stalled out on Saturday.
My immediate reaction to the climax was "that ain't what Milgram says." Studies show that humans tend to obey when given orders, more often than not, authority overriding morality. If just one or two of the hybrids had rebelled, I'd have bought it, even if the presence of an obeying mass is more likely to cue mob mentality. As it stands? With all of them refusing to fire? No.
ETA:...Although I suppose you could also argue reverse mob mentality. One rebels, two rebel, others follow. It seemed a wee bit simultaneous for that, though. They all refused to go homicidal, without intercommunication.
My point is, sadly, blind obedience is not a striking difference between humans and Daleks. It's a similarity. I could argue that the bit of Time Lord DNA made the critical difference, but did Gallifreyans strike any of you as a nonconformist people, last we saw them?
I could fanwank further and go with Cartmel's 'not just another Time Lord' argument, which, I suppose, could make the Doctor's personal DNA just special enough to work. But we still shouldn't needthree four paragraphs of fanwank simply to justify the episode's climax.
This is a rather good capsule summary of the whole two-parter, actually. "Good solid try. Too much idealism to be entirely believable." I'm not saying everything should have been bleak and dark...
Actually, it's a Dalek story. Maybe bleak and dark should have been the way to go. Also, I'm not sure who gave Raynor the idea of America as a more idealistic place than Britain. Because that is really the subtext I'm getting. Don't we all wish.
It may be time to give the Daleks a vacation, as they're getting less and less effective with each appearance. And not just because Shearman set the bar scary high.
Overall score: 2
I'm still entirely enamoured with Martha, however.
My immediate reaction to the climax was "that ain't what Milgram says." Studies show that humans tend to obey when given orders, more often than not, authority overriding morality. If just one or two of the hybrids had rebelled, I'd have bought it, even if the presence of an obeying mass is more likely to cue mob mentality. As it stands? With all of them refusing to fire? No.
ETA:...Although I suppose you could also argue reverse mob mentality. One rebels, two rebel, others follow. It seemed a wee bit simultaneous for that, though. They all refused to go homicidal, without intercommunication.
My point is, sadly, blind obedience is not a striking difference between humans and Daleks. It's a similarity. I could argue that the bit of Time Lord DNA made the critical difference, but did Gallifreyans strike any of you as a nonconformist people, last we saw them?
I could fanwank further and go with Cartmel's 'not just another Time Lord' argument, which, I suppose, could make the Doctor's personal DNA just special enough to work. But we still shouldn't need
This is a rather good capsule summary of the whole two-parter, actually. "Good solid try. Too much idealism to be entirely believable." I'm not saying everything should have been bleak and dark...
Actually, it's a Dalek story. Maybe bleak and dark should have been the way to go. Also, I'm not sure who gave Raynor the idea of America as a more idealistic place than Britain. Because that is really the subtext I'm getting. Don't we all wish.
It may be time to give the Daleks a vacation, as they're getting less and less effective with each appearance. And not just because Shearman set the bar scary high.
Overall score: 2
I'm still entirely enamoured with Martha, however.
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no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 12:24 am (UTC)Especially during the Great Depression. Frankly, this was not a very idealistic country then.
I really wish they'd played more with the Cult of Skaro's uniqueness. It would have been actively useful to the themes they were trying to potray, not to mention fascinating.
You did see me watching with my jaw on the floor the first time we heard them arguing with one another, right? ^_^ I think this was handled acceptably, but more could have been done. And Sec's voice was terrible.
I don't know if Ten would have done that either, though he should be old/experienced enough to know that any speech he could have made might have led to slaughter- as the one he made did. Especially after the results of Solomon's attempt, this really should have occured to him.
I think ... especially considering The Satan Pit and The Runaway Bride ... that very often Ten hopes for the best but expects the worst. The thing is, though, he can't plan for the worst. He doesn't have it in him. He sees it coming and can't do a thing to prevent it because some part of him can't believe it'll happen.
As for the humanity of the 'new Daleks', I just went la la la, Cult of Skaro is nuts, oh so nuts. I probably wasn't too wrong.
Yeah. SERIOUS denial. All they did was create a less obtrusive version of the Robomen. (Of course, in post-"Genesis" continuity, the Daleks may well have never developed Robomen, making this technology new to them. Did we ever see them anywhere but "The Dalek Invasion of Earth"?)
no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 12:31 am (UTC)Yeeees, yes I did. That reaction was a thing of beauty.
I actually haven't seen the Robomen yet, at all. Need to watch "Dalek Invasion of Earth."
no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 12:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 12:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 01:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-05-01 02:04 am (UTC)