TV Korner: Doctor Who – Five Things to Take Away from “Kill the Moon” (Season 8, Ep. 7)

Hello Puddin’ Heads!  Here are five things to take away from “Kill the Moon!”

1. SOME GOOD OL’ FASHIONED SCIENCE FICTION!

The idea of the planet or a planetoid (moon) being an egg of some sorts is not exactly something new in the world of science fiction. I can remember an episode of the SUPERFRIENDS, and I also seem to recall a STAR TREK novel written by Peter David that featured a “great bird of the galaxy” hatching out of a planet and chasing whatever starship it was chasing.

This episode, was not exactly treading new territory.

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2. SCARIER THAN “LISTEN”?

There were space spiders in this episode. Space spiders have been used by DOCTOR WHO before – a handful of times, but this episode had these creepy space spiders running amok on the moon.

Remember this scene from HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS?

Yeah that’s why I thought this was scarier than “Listen.”

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3. WHAT ARE THEY DOING WITH CLARA? 

In the previous episode “The Caretaker,” I remarked that the whole romance between Danny Pink and Clara Oswald seemed it a bit forced. The idea of “I love him!” comes out of nowhere and mix this with him pulling that “If the Doctor ever pushes you too far you tell me…” silliness left me a little raw.

Now when “Kill the Moon” ends with Clara having to “choose” between killing the bird in the moon or maybe putting humanity at risk, she rips into the Doctor about him playing games and manipulating her.  She then screams, “On behalf of humanity – leave!”

At some point, I wish the writers of DOCTOR WHO would realize, we don’t need “the Robin” to be our outlet into the world of “the Batman.” Frankly, we would rather see the Batman on his own! Same thing with Clara! I mean the companions are great for the Doctor to play off of, but after awhile the focus has been on them and not the Doctor. That I wish would change.

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4. IRON MAN ON WHO? 

At this point in time, everyone in the world knows who Robert Downey Jr. is! This is the guy who was the cornerstone of the Marvel Movie Universe! It all started with him in the movie IRON MAN. I mean the guy played Sherlock Holmes! (Do not get me started on a Sherlock Holmes/Doctor Who connection!)

During a recent Q/A session he mentioned DOCTOR WHO. Check out this from a recent RADIO TIMES article:

“…the actor responded to a user who asked whether he would ever go for a role in Doctor Who if given the chance.

“‘It’s funny you’d bring that up. A writer asked me to watch a particular episode about a month ago, in hopes of helping us break a story on a project.

“‘An incredible series. Anything’s possible.'” 

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5. CONTROVERSY FOR LAST – “KILL THE MOON” AN ABORTION DEBATE? 

Obviously everyone has opinions on everything, but I will admit that with Clara’s aforementioned decision about destroying the bird in the moon or seeing if it would destroy humanity, I found myself thinking, “Wow! This has become an abortion debate!’

While, this little column is neither the time nor the place to discuss such a complex issue, I will point to a column that does. Tim Stanley, a writer for the DAILY TELEGRAPH discusses it here.

“The show opens with the usual running around corridors being chased by CGI monsters that would only scare three year olds of a nervous disposition. But when it becomes apparent that the ‘villain’ of the piece is actually an alien embryo at the centre of the moon, it all takes a turn for the philosophical. An emissary from Earth wants to kill it because it could pose a threat to humanity. The Doctor’s two companions instinctively want to let it live because, well, it is a life. The Doctor states that if they blow the child apart, ‘It’ll never feel the sun on its back.’ And if its corpse is left to float around the Earth, ‘You might have some very difficult conversations with your kids.’ His friend, Clara, says, ‘This is a life, this must be the biggest life in the universe’ – and even if does pose a threat to others, ‘You can’t blame a baby for kicking.’ Sing it, sister.”

Very fascinating!

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Don’t forget to follow me on twitter at @Donsmith1974 and I live tweet at #DoctorWho at 9 pm EST while watching DOCTOR WHO on BBCA America.

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IMAGES: Courtesy of their respected sites and linked back to them.

By- Don Smith