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Five Thoughts on Doctor Who’s “The Return of Doctor Mysterio”

By | December 26th, 2016
Posted in Television | % Comments

So, after a long year hiatus, we finally have the return of The Doctor. And for this year’s Christmas special, we’re taking on an obvious Christmas subject: Superheroes! How does it go? Well, let’s see:

1. Guest Starring “The Doctor”

So yeah. Did it feel like The Doctor was the supporting character in his own Christmas Special? Like, this is clearly Steven Moffat trying to write Christopher Reeve Superman (in this case, a pastiche called “The Ghost” played by Justin Chatwin) but it really does feel like The Doctor was just a means to an end for that. Sure, he does stuff but it all feels ancillary. Speaking of just doing stuff…

2. What Was This Episode About?

Season 10 is going to be the swan song for show head (and the writer of this episode) Steven Moffat and man-oh-man was this an excessive glut. Attempts to be clever that really aren’t, attempts at humor that went completely over my head (“But it looks like Christmas tree.” “Of course it does! It’s science!”), huge stakes that really don’t feel huge at all and some really screwed up lines of dialogue when you think about them (more on this at the bottom). I mean, it’s supposedly taking a look at Superman while trying to look at him, buuuuut…

3. The Examination of Superheroes

…There really isn’t an examination of Superman in Moffat’s script. If anything, it’s paper thin at best. Do you know what the most “profound” thing about superheroes is in Moffat’s script? The whole Clark Kent/Superman (or in this case Grant/The Ghost) dichotomy and how no one realizes it. Now, I’m going to drop a massive bomb on you, Steven (and all the people who really are still hung up on this). Ready? The reason it is so obvious that Clark/Grant is Superman/The Ghost is because we know! We know their secret identity! So it’s obvious to us! In universe, it’s just some dark-haired dude, of which we have an abundance! And I can only laugh at just how outdated this examination is. Here we’ve got the Lois Lane stand-in still oblivious to the secret identity of her peer, meanwhile in current comics not only does Lois know, but they’re married and have a kid… and the books are better for it.

4. La Ira

“Do you have a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend? Sorry, people wonder. What with the dressing up and going out at night.”

That was the line that made me nearly shut this off and go back to catching up on the Tokyo Ghoul anime. And yes, The Ghost does call out that kind of stereotyping but just because you call it out doesn’t change the fact that it’s not only insulting but, as above, really just shallow and outdated examination of superheroes. On top of that, there’s this conversation The Ghost and the Lois Lane character have on a rooftop when they talk about The Ghost’s powers. One of them deals with X-Ray vision and adolescence and it’s supposed to come off as cute and charming and while I don’t think Justin Chatwin did bad… you’re not stopping that line from coming off as creepy.

5. Demanding Better

You know, one could say I am being irrational asking for something deeper from this show after being off for a year. I’m sorry, but I do. Over the last few weeks I’ve been catching up on Linkara’s History of Power Rangers series. And in his discussion of Power Rangers Megaforce, he talks about how over the last decade and a half, television -in particular television aimed at children and families- has changed. That if a show about lesbian space rocks can tell a deep, emotionally resonant, fun and action-packed story in fifteen minutes, you don’t get an excuse when you have a full hour. Furthermore, this is from the same writer who wrote “A Christmas Carol”, the best of the Christmas specials. So I know he can do better, so I’ll demand better.

And that’s that. Soon we will have a new season and a new companion. For good and ill, Doctor Who is back.


//TAGS | Doctor Who

Ken Godberson III

When he's not at his day job, Ken Godberson III is a guy that will not apologize for being born Post-Crisis. More of his word stuffs can be found on Twitter or Tumblr. Warning: He'll talk your ear off about why Impulse is the greatest superhero ever.

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