No. No, you can't deny it. Axons look like they have BAFTAs for faces.
I swear I'm not crazy. In fact, I know I'm not crazy because I Googled "BAFTA Axon," and this came up:
Oh, oh, wait! I remember where I first heard that Axons have BAFTA faces. From the Doctor himself:
I said I love Jo Grant in Mind of Evil. And I stand by it. But after--and even in--Mind of Evil, she begins to serve a somewhat annoying function: the person the aliens can threaten to get the Doctor to do what they want.
Like I said, this starts in Mind of Evil. (Before that, in Terror of the Autons, Jo is mind controlled by the Master to try to kill the Doctor, but it's a pretty pathetic attempt, frankly, and isn't that worrying.) Jo is held prisoner so the Master can threaten the Doctor into fixing the Keller Machine. The main difference between that, though, and what happens in this story, though, is that in Mind of Evil you believe that Jo could actually escape on her own without the Doctor's help--because she's awesome.
In Claws of Axos, Jo is completely helpless and simply serves the function of getting the Doctor to do what the Axons want. They try to torture him into giving them the secret of time travel, and that obviously doesn't work, but when they threaten Jo, he's like "Oh yeah, here you go. Never mind."
This continues, too. In Colony in Space, the Master gets the Doctor to take him to the superweapon city by holding Jo captive in his TARDIS.
Now, I don't have a problem with the Doctor's companions getting captured by the villains. In Classic Who, it seems that the Doctor is held captive by someone at least once a serial, so it would be strange if only he and not his companions were held prisoner. The annoying thing is that after a while you start to get the feeling that Jo doesn't actually serve any useful purpose other than to look nice and be used as leverage against the Doctor.
[Insert feminist commentary here.]
Still, that may just be this season (hoping so, but doubting it given what I've heard about the development of companions in Classic Who). I've watched Day of the Daleks, and she uses her escape artist skills there again, so she's improving once again.
And now for the better, less complaining subject: Time Lords. As you've probably figured out, my favorite topic in Doctor Who.
Oooh, a title drop.
At the end of this story, the Doctor (obviously in an attempt to trick the Master), pretends that he doesn't care about the Earth, and just wants to get out before the Axons (I literally almost wrong BAFTAs) destroy it. The Master has his first official "Join me!" speech to the Doctor, indicating that he may have had a slight change in opinion of the Doctor since Mind of Evil. I'm inclined to believe that since he almost killed the Doctor and then freaked out about him dying, he's decided that he'd rather the Doctor turn evil and travel with him. (Sort of like the Doctor wanted the Master to turn good in The Last of the Time Lords and travel with him.)
And yet, watching him do it, you could believe that someone like the Doctor might actually consider leaving the planet. Think about why he's here: he's been exiled by his people and his only way off the planet disabled. He obviously would rather be traveling, as he works so tirelessly to try to get the TARDIS working again. How much of a step is it to say that he'd leave the world in ruins because he simply wants to be out of here?
Well, I didn't believe he would. I said someone like him might do it. He wouldn't. I'm steadily becoming convinced that Three is the most moral of all the Doctors. He always works for good. He always does good. When others don't do the right thing or resort to violence, he calls them out on it. He's always encouraging people to be the best they can be.
Three is like Ten, except for not a hypocrite. I mean, whatever you can say about the Time Lords, they know how to pick good traits to regenerate into (a lot better than the Sisterhood of Karn did; they ended up with a guy who would blow up a planet). Kind of funny to think that, considering how much he hates them for exiling him and the fact that they exiled him because he was too moral and interfering.
Basically, Three is great. And a very good person. Which I've written about before.
This is exactly what makes the Master's next "Join me!" speech in Colony in Space so interesting. He tells the Doctor that he can use the superweapon (which is neither as dramatic as the Final Sanction, nor as insane as the Reality Bomb, nor as mysterious as the Hand of Omega, nor as heroic as the Moment) to rule the universe for good.
The Third Doctor spends his whole life being frustrated by this military organization that can never seem to do the right thing when it comes to making the difficult choice. He constantly fights supposedly good humans who cause so much suffering with their reactionary violence. Wouldn't it be wonderful for the Doctor to be able to have a weapon that would enable him to solve the ills of the universe, the make everything different for the better? The Doctor could use that power--he could use it for good.
But, of course, that would make the Doctor a god. And Three knows the consequences of becoming a god, and they are less than what he would hope to achieve. We know the consequences of the Doctor becoming a god too. Look at Ten - the Lonely God. The Last of the Time Lords. Might I say, the Time Lord Victorious? He declares himself the highest authority in the universe (New Earth) at the beginning of his run and declares that the laws of time must obey him, because he is the winner of the Time War (The Waters of Mars) at the end. What good did Ten's god-like status do for the earth? For the universe? It changed history by deposing Harriet Jones, allowing the Master to take over. It almost destroyed time in The Waters of Mars. And no one can pretend that the Family of Blood actually deserved what they got.
If the Doctor used this superweapon for good, he would make himself into a god. And when the Doctor used the Moment, that's exactly what happened. He didn't have a choice. It was the only way. And we see that even Ten would do anything to change that decision in The Day of the Doctor. But it still remains that that's what happened.
The Doctor is a Time Lord, and in that respect he does stand above humanity. He could rule the universe better than most humans. And that's the tug here, whenever the Master does the "Join me!" thing. The Doctor is a bit above humanity, simply by virtue of the superpower and technological level of his species. He's also above humanity in his morality. Both make strong cases for him joining the Master.
But he chooses not to, because he knows the consequences. That's what separates him from the Master. He just wants to see the universe, to be a part of it; the Master wants to own it and rule it and stand above it. And that will always be a difference that they can never reconcile, no matter how much anybody ships them.
Side Note:
I'm totally beginning to love Three. Yup. I find that whenever I watch Doctor Who now and there's any sort of reference to the Classic Series, I always think of Three. Whenever people talk about Classic Doctors, the first one I think of is Three. He's great!
There, I said it, I've been converted. He is now duking it out with Six for the next higher spot in my list of favorite Doctors that looks something like this:
Eleven - Ten - Four - Nine - Eight - War - Seven - [Three vs Six] - One - Two - Five
Actually, looking at this, it really looks like I don't like him very much. He's third on my list of favorite Classic Doctors (I don't count Eight as either Classic or New):
Four - Seven - [Three vs Six] - One - Two - Five
Having a decided extreme prejudice towards the new series, this means that Three is very high on my list. Surpassed only by Tom Baker (whose scarf I wear literally everywhere) and Sylvester McCoy (Remembrance of the Daleks is my favorite Classic Who episode). And is in competition with Colin Baker (who is the reason I got into Classic Who at all, watching Mark of the Rani).
And up next time is Colony in Space, where superweapons, Time Lord incompetence and crony capitalists combine to make for some very interesting plot ideas.
I swear I'm not crazy. In fact, I know I'm not crazy because I Googled "BAFTA Axon," and this came up:
Oh, oh, wait! I remember where I first heard that Axons have BAFTA faces. From the Doctor himself:
"It looks like an Axon."
ANYWAY....
Returning to the subject at hand. The Claws of Axos. Which is actually quite a wonderful story, with a lot to talk about. So lets start with another neatly organized (ha!) list of what there is to talk about: Jo Grant and Time Lords. This should be fun.
Jo Grant
I said I love Jo Grant in Mind of Evil. And I stand by it. But after--and even in--Mind of Evil, she begins to serve a somewhat annoying function: the person the aliens can threaten to get the Doctor to do what they want.
Like I said, this starts in Mind of Evil. (Before that, in Terror of the Autons, Jo is mind controlled by the Master to try to kill the Doctor, but it's a pretty pathetic attempt, frankly, and isn't that worrying.) Jo is held prisoner so the Master can threaten the Doctor into fixing the Keller Machine. The main difference between that, though, and what happens in this story, though, is that in Mind of Evil you believe that Jo could actually escape on her own without the Doctor's help--because she's awesome.
| Well, they were a little off with the aging up. |
 |
| But all in all, not bad |
This continues, too. In Colony in Space, the Master gets the Doctor to take him to the superweapon city by holding Jo captive in his TARDIS.
Now, I don't have a problem with the Doctor's companions getting captured by the villains. In Classic Who, it seems that the Doctor is held captive by someone at least once a serial, so it would be strange if only he and not his companions were held prisoner. The annoying thing is that after a while you start to get the feeling that Jo doesn't actually serve any useful purpose other than to look nice and be used as leverage against the Doctor.
Still, that may just be this season (hoping so, but doubting it given what I've heard about the development of companions in Classic Who). I've watched Day of the Daleks, and she uses her escape artist skills there again, so she's improving once again.
And now for the better, less complaining subject: Time Lords. As you've probably figured out, my favorite topic in Doctor Who.
Time Lord in Exile
Oooh, a title drop.
 |
| Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as...wait a minute... |
And yet, watching him do it, you could believe that someone like the Doctor might actually consider leaving the planet. Think about why he's here: he's been exiled by his people and his only way off the planet disabled. He obviously would rather be traveling, as he works so tirelessly to try to get the TARDIS working again. How much of a step is it to say that he'd leave the world in ruins because he simply wants to be out of here?
 |
| Look, Rani's dissing her second favorite Doctor. Again. |
Three is like Ten, except for not a hypocrite. I mean, whatever you can say about the Time Lords, they know how to pick good traits to regenerate into (a lot better than the Sisterhood of Karn did; they ended up with a guy who would blow up a planet). Kind of funny to think that, considering how much he hates them for exiling him and the fact that they exiled him because he was too moral and interfering.
Basically, Three is great. And a very good person. Which I've written about before.
This is exactly what makes the Master's next "Join me!" speech in Colony in Space so interesting. He tells the Doctor that he can use the superweapon (which is neither as dramatic as the Final Sanction, nor as insane as the Reality Bomb, nor as mysterious as the Hand of Omega, nor as heroic as the Moment) to rule the universe for good.The Third Doctor spends his whole life being frustrated by this military organization that can never seem to do the right thing when it comes to making the difficult choice. He constantly fights supposedly good humans who cause so much suffering with their reactionary violence. Wouldn't it be wonderful for the Doctor to be able to have a weapon that would enable him to solve the ills of the universe, the make everything different for the better? The Doctor could use that power--he could use it for good.
But, of course, that would make the Doctor a god. And Three knows the consequences of becoming a god, and they are less than what he would hope to achieve. We know the consequences of the Doctor becoming a god too. Look at Ten - the Lonely God. The Last of the Time Lords. Might I say, the Time Lord Victorious? He declares himself the highest authority in the universe (New Earth) at the beginning of his run and declares that the laws of time must obey him, because he is the winner of the Time War (The Waters of Mars) at the end. What good did Ten's god-like status do for the earth? For the universe? It changed history by deposing Harriet Jones, allowing the Master to take over. It almost destroyed time in The Waters of Mars. And no one can pretend that the Family of Blood actually deserved what they got.If the Doctor used this superweapon for good, he would make himself into a god. And when the Doctor used the Moment, that's exactly what happened. He didn't have a choice. It was the only way. And we see that even Ten would do anything to change that decision in The Day of the Doctor. But it still remains that that's what happened.
The Doctor is a Time Lord, and in that respect he does stand above humanity. He could rule the universe better than most humans. And that's the tug here, whenever the Master does the "Join me!" thing. The Doctor is a bit above humanity, simply by virtue of the superpower and technological level of his species. He's also above humanity in his morality. Both make strong cases for him joining the Master.
But he chooses not to, because he knows the consequences. That's what separates him from the Master. He just wants to see the universe, to be a part of it; the Master wants to own it and rule it and stand above it. And that will always be a difference that they can never reconcile, no matter how much anybody ships them.
Side Note:
I'm totally beginning to love Three. Yup. I find that whenever I watch Doctor Who now and there's any sort of reference to the Classic Series, I always think of Three. Whenever people talk about Classic Doctors, the first one I think of is Three. He's great!
There, I said it, I've been converted. He is now duking it out with Six for the next higher spot in my list of favorite Doctors that looks something like this:
Eleven - Ten - Four - Nine - Eight - War - Seven - [Three vs Six] - One - Two - Five
Actually, looking at this, it really looks like I don't like him very much. He's third on my list of favorite Classic Doctors (I don't count Eight as either Classic or New):
Four - Seven - [Three vs Six] - One - Two - Five
Having a decided extreme prejudice towards the new series, this means that Three is very high on my list. Surpassed only by Tom Baker (whose scarf I wear literally everywhere) and Sylvester McCoy (Remembrance of the Daleks is my favorite Classic Who episode). And is in competition with Colin Baker (who is the reason I got into Classic Who at all, watching Mark of the Rani).
 |
| Serious kudos to thirddoctor for the awesome pic |
And up next time is Colony in Space, where superweapons, Time Lord incompetence and crony capitalists combine to make for some very interesting plot ideas.
 |
Shhhhheeeeewwwwww...oooooWEEEEEEEooooo
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