Story: Oxygen
Written By: Jamie Mathieson
Length: 45 Minutes
Year: 2017
"Oxygen" is top notch Doctor Who. The Doctor takes Bill and Nardole on a trip, much to Nardole's dismay that the Doctor is breaking his promise to guard the Vault over and over again, but the Doctor is tired of being nailed down to one planet and one University...so he says screw it and heads out on yet another. But, they end up on a Space Station where the Oxygen is only provided by "Smart Suits," and it is only provided by credits...basically you must pay for your supply of breathable air. And the suits end up killing the inhabitants of the suits, turning them into essentially zombies (or really corpses that are only walking around because they are in the technological space suits).
It is capitalism run amuck, and since people's health and livelihood in America is still highly costly, it rings quite true here. And putting a price on the air we breath seems not so different from putting a high price on someone getting necessary medical attention or life saving operations or medication. So this episode feels very relevant to today's issues here in America (though being that the show is British, maybe they were commenting on other issues specifically) but either way the message is fairly simple...Capitalism taken to it's extreme, totally sucks.
And the kicker of the episode is fantastic. During the course of the adventure, the Doctor saves Bill (who has a malfunctioning suit), by providing her with his space helmet when they walk outside of the station. He survives the ordeal, but loses his sight in the process. He of course brushes it off because he has stuff in the TARDIS that can probably cure it...but when we get to the tail end of the episode we discover that it didn't work...he is still blind! So we either have a Doctor who only remains blind for the next episode and it gets cured, or it is entirely possible that he remains blind until his regeneration, which we already know is coming by Christmas. I am actually hoping that Moffat goes for the challenge, and keeps the Doctor blind for his remaining adventures...I mean what a twist that can have for his character and his perspective in his remaining adventures.
I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't last through to his end, but I think it could be a neat idea...and it could even lead to his ultimate downfall, maybe something simple he just doesn't see gets him. Or who knows! The possibilities are exciting. Great episode, wonderful tease at the end, look forward to the next one!
NEXT TIME: A Blind Doctor?
Written By: Jamie Mathieson
Length: 45 Minutes
Year: 2017
"Oxygen" is top notch Doctor Who. The Doctor takes Bill and Nardole on a trip, much to Nardole's dismay that the Doctor is breaking his promise to guard the Vault over and over again, but the Doctor is tired of being nailed down to one planet and one University...so he says screw it and heads out on yet another. But, they end up on a Space Station where the Oxygen is only provided by "Smart Suits," and it is only provided by credits...basically you must pay for your supply of breathable air. And the suits end up killing the inhabitants of the suits, turning them into essentially zombies (or really corpses that are only walking around because they are in the technological space suits).
And the kicker of the episode is fantastic. During the course of the adventure, the Doctor saves Bill (who has a malfunctioning suit), by providing her with his space helmet when they walk outside of the station. He survives the ordeal, but loses his sight in the process. He of course brushes it off because he has stuff in the TARDIS that can probably cure it...but when we get to the tail end of the episode we discover that it didn't work...he is still blind! So we either have a Doctor who only remains blind for the next episode and it gets cured, or it is entirely possible that he remains blind until his regeneration, which we already know is coming by Christmas. I am actually hoping that Moffat goes for the challenge, and keeps the Doctor blind for his remaining adventures...I mean what a twist that can have for his character and his perspective in his remaining adventures.
I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't last through to his end, but I think it could be a neat idea...and it could even lead to his ultimate downfall, maybe something simple he just doesn't see gets him. Or who knows! The possibilities are exciting. Great episode, wonderful tease at the end, look forward to the next one!
NEXT TIME: A Blind Doctor?
Comments
Post a Comment