Mark Watches ‘Doctor Who’: S03E07 – 42

In the seventh episode of the third series of Doctor Who, the Doctor intercepts a distress call from a spacecraft that is spinning towards the sun, where he discovers a mysterious illness and the fact that they all have just 42 minutes until they get burned up. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Doctor Who.

I’d like to take a moment to talk about storytelling and why it’s so fantastic.

I think that, growing up, my nerdiness/geekdom/whatever you want to call it was routinely thrown the same insult (and I largely consider it one for myself), time and time again:

“You just want to escape the world. You don’t want to deal with it.”

It angered me because…YES. YES I WANT TO LEAVE THIS WORLD. I don’t need to delve into specifics right now, especially since so many of you have read about me opening up about my childhood during Mark Reads Harry Potter. (For those who haven’t WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING RIGHT NOW.)

There is always going to be a slight element of escapism to my love of science fiction, of fantasy, and of the beauty of the written word, of the celluloid (and digital!) images on a movie screen. Whether I’m experiencing a world that could never exists or one that feels like it’s right next door, I love reading, and I love watching movies/television, especially when it can take me somewhere I’d never considered or thought I could live in or live by or live through.

But to simply erase the idea that there is so much more to the experience was always really insulting to me. Being entertained is something that differs from person to person. I know people who saw Winter’s Bone last year and thought it was too slow and boring. I get that. I want to smack them on the head and say BUT U DON’T GET IT MASTERPIECE OF CINEMA, but I don’t. We are all entertained by different tropes, by different devices, by varying styles of storytelling, by an assortment of themes and messages and subtle innuendos and plot twists and surprise endings and tone shifts and narrative techniques and narrative shifts (MY FAVORITE) and I could seriously go on and on.

Not everything I’ve ever enjoyed fits the model that “42” does, and I feel the need to admit that before pressing on. Some of my friends make fun of me for liking weird, artsy, and “boring” foreign or independent movies (to which I routinely yell RACIST) that tell stories in challenging ways. I like when a film or TV show isn’t necessarily easy to follow or that it doesn’t satisfy you in ways you come to expect, especially modern American television. (Momentary High-Five-Let-Me-Recommend-Interesting-Shows Moment: Rubicon and The Wire. Carry on.)

The thing that I really love about fiction (and sometimes even non-fiction; check out Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, the best of his books and something that does this very well) is the way that a story can suck you into its world and manipulate your emotions and expectations in a way that can shock and surprise. It’s funny how “You are not prepared” and “Shit just got real” have become catchphrases associated with me because they represent something that I adore about storytelling: when writers keep you on your toes.

It relates to why I have such a strict spoiler policy on this site, and why I get so upset when it’s broken. I understand that it’s absurd concept when I essentially wave my UNPREPARED PRIVILEGE in your face and tell you not to talk about what you so desperately want to talk about. Seriously, I am not being sarcastic: I completely understand it. But the whole point of hijacking this review from its normal format was to lead to this, to giving some insight into how spoilers affect how I consume media.

First off, this episode is among one of my favorites episodes of any show ever. HYPERBOLE INTENDED. I love that they toyed with the element of the show existing in real-time (42 minutes) and I love that they managed to combine heartwrenching, emotional scenes mixed in with absolute fucking terror. (Also, is this show one giant reference to Douglas Adams? I never read Hitchhiker’s Guide and I might someday, but I know spaceships headed to the sun and the number 42 play heavily into the first novel, yes?)

But here’s the real kicker: I’ve asked you not to tell me about future companions, plot twists, deaths, etc. All of it. I have told you not to spoil all of the things. And, by and large, you all have been quite good at it. (EXCEPT YESTERDAY. JESUS CHRIST GUYS SHUT UP. Also, that’s not entirely why I’m writing this review this way. But yes, SHAME ON A LOT OF YOU FOR MAKING THE COMMENTS A SPOILER BATTLEGROUND JESUS IN HEAVEN WHY)

I know some very, very general spoilers for the future. Such as Donna coming back, but I figured that out after the Christmas special, since I’d seen so many GIFs/images online and she didn’t become this series’ companion. I know Matt Smith and Amy Pond take over at some point I CAN’T WAIT BTW, and I know that I am awfully close to Moffat’s “Blink” and I am considering a night-time liveblog of it next week on the night before the review goes live. DOES THAT SOUND ACCEPTABLE ok of course it does i love you all so much.

So, what was my whole point for this giant word vomit of a review? Ah, yes. For a moment, I actually believed this was Martha’s last episode. I actually believed, by the sheer power of the storytelling, that her and Riley would plummet into the sun and die. Even thinking about it now, it’s still entirely plausible to me: it would be a great commentary on the way the Doctor has been treating Martha this series. It would allow him to seek out Donna to ask her to come back and be his companion. It would motivate Martha’s mother to further side against the Doctor with those mysterious folks in suits who seem to be working for Mr. Saxon.

Because no one spoiled Martha’s character arc, I believed the story and I believed the risk. And that made all the difference to me; the episode was much more exciting and compelling to me. It made Martha’s phone call to her mother so depressing and bleak. It made the moment of silence as the escape pod detached from the S.S. Pentallian all the more horrifying.

I know it may seem silly to you that I don’t want even the vaguest of spoiler. I understand it. But if someone had told me about who the future companions were and when they showed up, using the familiar, “Oh, it’s not really a spoiler because I didn’t tell you the details,” then this episode would have just been good. Not really, really, really good, or spectacularly good, or particularly frightening or nightmare-inducing, not emotionally heavy or depressing or bleak or saddening.

Frankly, it probably would have ruined the experience. So thank you. You know, for not saying anything.

THOUGHTS

• WHO THE HELL IS MR. SAXON.
• The sun was a living organism. AS;DLFKJASD;FLKASADFS I WOULD NEVER HAVE CONSIDERED THAT. Chris Chibnall, who wrote this episode, please allow me to give you all the hugs.
• I don’t think I ever want to hear the Doctor cry out, “I’m scared! I’m so scared!” ever again. EVER. Seriously, this also contributed to why I thought this episode would CHANGE EVERYTHING. Ugh, so frightening.
• “Humans! You grabbed whatever is nearest and bleed it dry!”
• “Don’t they teach recreational mathematics anymore?”
• “The wonderful world of space travel. The prettier it looks, the more likely it is to kill you.
• The idea that the codes to the doors are answers to a pop quiz? BRILLIANT. FUCKING BRILLIANT.
• oh god i am so close to “Blink” oh my god