cs2532aa@unm-cvax.UUCP (04/19/85)
The increase in various states of Companion Undressedness in the Peter Davison
years doesn't bother me nearly as much as the (apparent) trend towards more
graphic violence in Season 22 with Colin Baker. I have seen two stories from
this season -- "Mark of the Rani" and "The Two Doctors" -- and there seemed to
me to be more violence in these two stories (especially in "Two Doctors") than
in any complete season I'd seen before. Some examples include (spoiler warning
in effect here):
Two Doctors: * Doctor gets stabbed in leg, bleeds all over the place.
* Minor (but likable) character gets stabbed in chest, more
blood, and no real reason for the killing from a plot
standpoint.
* Sontaran gets blown up, but his (disconnected!) leg is
carried around for the duration of one scene.
* Doctor murders (I think the term is appropriate here) the
character who killed the aforementioned "Minor (but likable)
character". This seemed TOTALLY out of character!
Mark of the Rani: * Doctor seems more violent in general
* Master gets kicked in the groin (actually I thought
that part was pretty funny!)
* Doctor and Peri are almost killed by Mustard Gas (this
was more disturbing than graphic, but seemed out of place)
I'm not really offended by the increase in violence, just disappointed in
the writers as they seem to be making the show much more "action-adventure"
than it used to be, and are also giving Mary Whitehouse and her ilk more to
complain about with no real benefit to the program.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the two stories -- Troughton has a field
day in "Two Doctors" and Colin Baker's Doctor is quite likable, just a bit
sadistic. Peri is one of the better companions, although hearing the 'R'
in 'TARDIS' and "DOCTOR" take some getting used to.
.rne.
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Real World . . Ernie Longmire / 311 Don St. SE / Los Lunas, NM 87031-9405
UUCP . . . . . {{purdue,cmcl2,ihnp4}!lanl,ucbvax}!unmvax!unm-cvax!cs2532aa
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Greatness is attainable only when it is not sought. --B. Banzainyssa@abnji.UUCP (nyssa of traken) (04/23/85)
Violence on Doctor Who comes and goes. Perhaps the worst was episode three of the Deadly Assassin, where the Doctor is shot in the leg, and we get to watch the blood dripping, his foot is run over by a train, he is later shot in the shoulder and at the end has his head held under water in a (burning) swamp. His opponent doesn't get off lightly. A grenade explodes behind him, we see him wrapping a bandage around his body with a large blood stain. He is poisoned with a poisonous dart, blown at him by the Doctor, and he actually catches fire, when he fires his gun in a swamp infested with methane. This episode resulted in the producer "retiring" and the BBC establishing standards on violence on television. Another recent violent story was "Vengeance on Varos", which featured a planet which exports video violence: torture and executions. Some of my recent signature quotes are from that story. The governemnt of Varos has a governor selected, and his ideas must be ratified by the people (a highly advanced system of TV feedback). If the idea is not ratified, he is hit with a blast from a cell disintegrator. The story is a spoof on a recent video nasties controversy in Britain. -- James C Armstrong, Jnr. ihnp4!abnji!nyssa Chap with wings there, five rounds rapid!