Classic Doctor Who 14x04 "The Face of Evil" eps 3-4 full reaction
Added 2023-07-31 23:05:51 +0000 UTCHey guys! These two eps were recorded separately, since I had some internet wackiness while trying to record episode 3. I think I managed to stitch the episode 3 reaction together pretty well, all things considered, but I didn't block out the source video since it might cause problems syncing, so enjoy! Episode 4 was buffer-free, so that's set up as usual.
So, this is it for now, but please feel free to check back in November/December for the 60th anniversary specials. If you've de-pledged, I'll be sure to make update posts public so that everyone can see them.
Thanks for everything, and I hope to watch some great stories with you again in the future!
Comments
Thanks Monica for a great reaction. The Face Of Evil is one of my favourite stories in Season 14. The next story is The Robots Of Death.
James Gorman
2023-08-07 15:58:10 +0000 UTCThe Face of Evil is one of the bravest and one of the most intellectually stimulating Doctor Who stories ever. I really like how we're introduced to this primitive world and society and led to believe that this must be far back in this planet's history, only to have that belief subverted. In reality, all the people on this planet are descendants of technologically advanced humans and have regressed backwards. The implication being that time isn't a straight line, it's a circle with patterns repeating themselves throughout it. It's also really cool imagery to have all this technology just lying around such an underdeveloped and seemingly ancient world. I also think it’s fascinating how this story shows us the way people take myths and legends and create religion and religious rituals out of them because it’s out of their comprehension. I think this tells us how impractical religious fundamentalism is in the modern world and how foolish it is to kill other people and start wars over religion. Fundamentalists are on shaky ground because there’s no way of proving their faith is actually real. The line “with proof, we don't have to believe” gets to heart of the issue. It’s saying that once we find proof of our beliefs and start to understand them, we’ll know that there’s nothing Godly or supernatural about them at all, that there’s a perfectly rational and scientific explanation behind it all. This story really shows us how dangerous it is to put anyone up on a pedestal and consider them worthy of worship because of how far people are willing to go for their God and how they will manipulate religion to their advantage in order to gain power and control over others. The fact that Neeva, who was the most dogmatic out of them all at the start of story, turned against Xaonon and became obsessed with killing him instead because he believed in him the most and felt betrayed is a really interesting character arc. All of this is extremely compelling. Leela is a big part of these themes and right from the start she’s established as someone who questions things and doesn’t take everything at face value. I really like how her friendship with the Doctor grows over the course of this story, even though they have disagreements over her use of the Janis thorns. What is evident though is Leela’s capacity and eagerness to learn from the Doctor. Despite being unable to really understand the high concepts he talks about, you can see she’s prepared to believe him because at least what he says is better than the backward, superstitious beliefs of her own people that she was questioning at the start of the story. This will get further developed in the next few stories and Leela and the Doctor’s student/teacher dynamic is very interesting and is a big reason why she’s one of my favourite classic Who companions. There’s also just the fact that it’s nice to have a female companion that can take care of herself physically and doesn’t rely on the Doctor. I also love the idea behind Xaonon. A supercomputer gone mad that starts to think it’s God and creates a world in its own image and makes all the people on it live out it’s suffering in a twisted form of eugenics. I mean, wow! Chris Boucher could not have made his contempt for religion any clearer! It says a lot that the solution to this world's problems is for Xoanon/God to die. Boucher's message being clear, the world would be a better place without the constraints of religion put around people and for them to have the freedom and ability to live their lives as freely as possible instead. Another highlight of this story is its willingness to question and challenge the Doctor. I love that we get to explore the aftermath of the Doctor’s interference on a world and how the outcome isn’t always for the better. It forces the Doctor to confront his own hubris and confess his mistakes. It makes us realise that he isn’t all powerful or perfect. He’s just as fallible as anyone else. I think Xaonon being partly the Doctor is actually a subtle allegory for the Doctor’s own God complex. Overall, this is a brilliant story and one that really takes on and explores a lot of interesting themes and ideas. It isn’t afraid to tackle sensitive subjects and be controversial and I love it for that.
Azmat Mahmood
2023-08-01 02:33:53 +0000 UTCAll the very best,Monica! ❤️
Ian Smith
2023-07-31 23:53:44 +0000 UTCI hope to see you back on here in a couple of years, hopefully! I'll be in England by then!😁🥳🎉 Thanks for everything, Monica; and good luck with your new adventures!
Amy Chlebus
2023-07-31 23:47:02 +0000 UTC
