{"id":134283,"date":"2019-01-01T21:34:35","date_gmt":"2019-01-01T21:34:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/?p=134283"},"modified":"2021-01-13T10:42:46","modified_gmt":"2021-01-13T10:42:46","slug":"doctor-who-resolution-review-old-foes-and-brexit-gags-in-spectacular-satire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2019\/01\/01\/doctor-who-resolution-review-old-foes-and-brexit-gags-in-spectacular-satire\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who: Resolution review \u2013 old foes and Brexit gags in spectacular satire"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have to say that I have pretty much been a lifelong\u00a0Dr Who fan, though not\u00a0an obsessive. I like the fact that the stories\u00a0mutate much like the Doctor’s\u00a0regenerations. Yes its a variable\u00a0feast but it can still surprise and delight even after all this time.\u00a0<\/b>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"PoweredThis article titled “Doctor Who: Resolution review \u2013 old foes and Brexit gags in spectacular satire” was written by Mark Lawson, for The Guardian on Tuesday 1st January 2019 20.01 UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

Having upset some traditionalists by skipping a Christmas Day special in favour of a New Year\u2019s Day spectacular, Doctor Who\u2019s show-runner Chris Chibnall compensated by bringing back the show\u2019s most famous enemy.<\/p>\n

The episode was a Dalek origin story, although a two-minute prologue seemed designed to attract the Game of Thrones fanbase too. Hairy blokes in coats that looked recently ripped from goats stood around wood fires on war-torn land. A growly voiceover explained that the ancient Britons had fought an enemy so terrible that his conquered corpse had been sliced in three, and the portions stored around the world, starting at a Pacific island and a Siberian freezescape.<\/p>\n

I made a mental bet that the rest of the super-warrior would be found under Sheffield, which turned out to be the case. After only 11 episodes in charge, Chibnall is already growing his own in-jokes. As well as audibly coming from Yorkshire, Jodie Whittaker\u2019s Doctor<\/a> is returned there at every possibility. So the squid-like innards of a Dalek, usually hidden within that man-sized pepper mill on castors, were inevitably dug up by archaeologists working in the S1 postcode.<\/p>\n

As well as making the series more Earthbound, especially around the West Riding, another mark of Chibnall\u2019s tenancy has been topical commentary. The first season<\/a> was explicitly pro-ecology and anti-Trump, and implicitly anti-Brexit.<\/p>\n

So liberal-friendly has the show been, it was a surprise in this special that the Dalekian inner jelly didn\u2019t turn out to be called Jacob Rees-Blob, or that when the extraterrestrial glop was enclosed in a plastic bag, it wasn\u2019t the packaging that proved to be the biggest threat to the planet.<\/p>\n

With 88 days to go until the UK is supposed to leave the EU, however, there was one pointed political reference. When the Doctor tried to call on the cross-border Unified Intelligence Taskforce to help save Sheffield from extermination, she learned that Britain was no longer a member after falling out with her \u201cmajor international partners\u201d. Another satirical gag was aimed at the cross-planetary force threatening to exterminate the BBC.<\/p>\n

When the Daleks broke the internet, a mother warned her children that no entertainment was available. \u201cNot even Netflix?\u201d pleaded a child. But no, even that modern superpower could not defy the croaky rollers.<\/p>\n

Presumably coincidentally, the overall theme overlapped with this year\u2019s Queen\u2019s Christmas message by stressing the need for national and community unity. The final scoreline was: United Sheffield 1, Daleks 0.<\/p>\n

Another Chibnall signature was entwining the extraterrestrial with the domestic. The absence of Bradley Walsh\u2019s doctorial sidekick Graham from one key Tardis mission was so odd that you initially assumed a filming clash with The Chase, but it transpired that the character had been grounded in order to discuss responsible parenting with guest actor Daniel Adegboyega, as the absentee dad of sidekick Ryan (Tosin Cole).<\/p>\n

Having shown in Broadchurch an exceptional skill at writing family dynamics, Chibnall now extends this exploration into the broadest church of all \u2013 the universe. The show ended with a parent-child hug.<\/p>\n

That interaction poignantly wasn\u2019t open to the main character, in a performance that gave us a bonus extra day of some of the best TV acting of 2018. Between intermittent radiant smiles and sharp one-liners, Whittaker\u2019s dominant note in the role is a sense of lonely responsibility \u2013 carrying the cares of the solar system on her shoulders \u2013 which the scripts keep underlining.<\/p>\n

Preparing to face down the Daleks again, she is warned, \u201cYou can\u2019t do it alone!\u201d, but shrugs: \u201cAlways have done.\u201d When an Earthling notes that dads are complicated, the Doctor ruefully replies: \u201cSo I\u2019m told.\u201d She is parentless, childless, partnerless, but everyone needs her.<\/p>\n

This Doctor feels like the world leader we want for these times. Sadly, though, she won\u2019t be on screen again until 2020, the producers having asked to make the next episodes slowly. Quality control is the reason for the delay, and the classiness of this first series finale gives Chibnall a high bar to beat, but ensures that viewers will want to watch him try.<\/p>\n

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010<\/p>\n

Published via the Guardian News Feed<\/a> plugin<\/a> for WordPress.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The classy New Year\u2019s Day special gave us a generous helping of the Doctor we wish were world leader \u2013 and it will have to tide us over until 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[59,331,99,328,330,51,333,332,149,329,53,301,46],"class_list":["post-134283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musings","tag-article","tag-bbc-one","tag-culture","tag-doctor-who","tag-fantasy-tv","tag-main-section","tag-mark-lawson","tag-reviews","tag-television","tag-television-radio","tag-the-guardian","tag-uk-home-news","tag-uk-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6NRDR-yVR","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60649,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2016\/11\/19\/article-50-could-be-reversed-government-may-argue-in-brexit-case\/","url_meta":{"origin":134283,"position":0},"title":"Article 50 could be reversed, government may argue in Brexit case","author":"diana Stone","date":"November 19, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Lawyers consider potential change of tack for supreme court challenge to ruling that MPs must vote to trigger EU exit","rel":"","context":"In "Musings"","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Powered by Guardian.co.uk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/image.guardian.co.uk\/sys-images\/Guardian\/Pix\/pictures\/2010\/03\/01\/poweredbyguardianBLACK.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":134227,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2018\/12\/31\/there-is-a-path-to-a-second-referendum-and-only-labour-can-win-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":134283,"position":1},"title":"There is a path to a second referendum \u2013 and only Labour can win it","author":"diana Stone","date":"December 31, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"As the political class returns to Westminster, this could be the time that, through the Brexit process, Labour finds its path to power","rel":"","context":"In "Musings"","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Powered by Guardian.co.uk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/image.guardian.co.uk\/sys-images\/Guardian\/Pix\/pictures\/2010\/03\/01\/poweredbyguardianBLACK.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":132429,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2018\/11\/27\/balanced-reporting\/","url_meta":{"origin":134283,"position":2},"title":"Balanced reporting","author":"diana Stone","date":"November 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Whilst Neil\u2019s constant pro-Brexit tweets are one thing, the BBC host\u2019s incredibly forthright tweets have also now delved into the realms of outright abuse. Earlier this month, Neil was forced to delete a tweet aimed at the Carole Cadwalladr, in which he labelled the Guardian journalist a \u201cmad cat woman\u201d.","rel":"","context":"In "Musings"","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":142956,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2019\/06\/08\/how-will-wealthy-brexiteers-profit-from-brexit\/","url_meta":{"origin":134283,"position":3},"title":"How will wealthy Brexiteers profit from Brexit?","author":"diana Stone","date":"June 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"How will wealthy Brexiteers profit from Brexit? The surprising truth about the world's most secretive tax network for the wealthy. Plus, we hand the Brexit Party a rather unfortunate award. Voiced by Stephen Fry. Extensive Brexit facts at helpsavedemocracy.com\/brexit If you're a UK citizen, please send it to your MP\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Musings"","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":132644,"url":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/2018\/12\/01\/brexit-facts-vs-fear-with-stephen-fry\/","url_meta":{"origin":134283,"position":4},"title":"Brexit: Facts vs Fear, with Stephen Fry.","author":"diana Stone","date":"December 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"How a mythical EU dragon was conjured up and the striking truth behind it all. A trick of forced perspective put fear in the way of facts. Voiced by Stephen Fry. Immigrants contributed \u00a320bn to the UK between 2000-2011, paying 64% more in taxes than they received in benefits. 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Secretly he must wish he could quit right now","rel":"","context":"In "Musings"","block_context":{"text":"Musings","link":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/category\/musings\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Powered by Guardian.co.uk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/image.guardian.co.uk\/sys-images\/Guardian\/Pix\/pictures\/2010\/03\/01\/poweredbyguardianBLACK.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134283\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glass-cage.com\/dianas_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}