His weapon is knowledge
Unlike some of my readers, I am off work this week, as my employer is locking us all out until Jan. 3 to save on heat. In the little free time left to me after sifting through all of my David Copperfield emails (yes, they keep coming), I’ve been fortunate enough to watch the Dr. Who Christmas special. Set in a present-day London under attack by scavenging aliens, the special was rad for three main reasons [SPOILERS FOLLOW].
1) During the attack, Prime Minister Harriet Jones fended off a bid by the President of the United States to take over Earth’s response. “He’s not my boss,” she said, “and I’m certainly not going to let him turn this into a war.” Nicely put.
2) The invading aliens were called the Sycorax — the name, as my classmates from Mr. Vail’s English class will remember, of Caliban’s witch-mother in The Tempest.
3) For most of the special, everyone is freaking out because the Sycorax control everyone with A-positive blood and are thus able to hold the world hostage. The Doctor is busy regenerating and cannot come to their aid. But then! He awakes! And, in a pair of borrowed pajamas, announces that blood control is no stronger than hypnosis and can be broken with a mere press of a button. See, kids, he didn’t have to use his special powers or anything. He just knows everything about the universe, and thus can save it time and time again. So stay in school . . .
But seriously, this is one reason why I always loved Doctor Who growing up — when you’re an eight-year-old know-it-all, the Doctor is kind of like your version of God. Or, in the new incarnation, your version of Prince Charming. One of my professors likes to say that Doctor Who is basically a fantasy for girls, giving them hope that someday a man will come to lift them out of their run-of-the-mill lives and take them traveling through space and time.
But, since my boyfriend got us TiVo for Christmas, I don’t have to fantasize anymore.