A couple of thoughtful & insightful posts about Demons of the Punjab

[elisi]

TIBERIAN THOUGHTS – Sheffield Steel, or a Subjective Look at the Thirteenth Doctor #6: “Demons of the Punjab”

Demons and Silences by Jack Graham (on Eridutorum)

Comments

[promethia_tenk]

The Chibnall era shows us a reality which is at best confusing, and at worst a living nightmare, from the dark recesses of industrial noir to historically accurate peaks of human suffering and misery. It’s miserable and chaotic – and characters need to make sense of it. Graham says so: we can’t know the truth of our own lives, because “we’re too busy living it from the outside” (a very important difference from the Moffat era, which was all about characters having a deep understanding of the narratives of their lives, with their attempts to stir it in a given direction being the thematic cruxes of the series’ arcs).
I knew this, but seeing it spelled out just makes me want to cry: yes, you will always feel a gnawing emptiness from this era.

Though:

Which adopts pretty unconventional, if not outright flawed, positions towards the classic positions of screenwriting, both in general and relatively to previous eras of Who. I personally choose to make that leap and consider the dynamics we are seeing as a deliberate action, a way to show a certain kind of morality in action. There hasn’t been, really, any conflict between the members of the TARDIS crew so far, and “Demons of the Punjab” does not change that – compare it to the relatively similar “Father’s Day”, the differences are staggering. That can be seen as a flaw – but it’s also, in many respects, a way to teach unity: while the threats this series have only been external, they also have been pointedly systemic, with the cooperation and friendship between the characters as their saving grace, their way to re-enchant their lives and triumph against the bad guys. It’s, quite frankly, dramatically unsustainable for too long, and I don’t believe it could last into next series: but it’s also something new, and that I’ve personally found both beautiful and necessary for the narrative of the series.

^^^ This is 100% Star Trek. That is the central idea behind Star Trek and the thing that makes it different from all other shows. Opinions do vary as to how effective this is as television, but it makes me happy.

[maia]

we can’t know the truth of our own lives, because “we’re too busy living it from the outside” (a very important difference from the Moffat era, which was all about characters having a deep understanding of the narratives of their lives, with their attempts to stir it in a given direction being the thematic cruxes of the series’ arcs).

I hadn't thought of that, but...yes, that's true.


I knew this, but seeing it spelled out just makes me want to cry: yes, you will always feel a gnawing emptiness from this era.

*Nods*

*Hugs you*


This is 100% Star Trek. That is the central idea behind Star Trek and the thing that makes it different from all other shows. Opinions do vary as to how effective this is as television, but it makes me happy.

Yes!!!

[promethia_tenk]

*Hugs you*
<3

I know that the universe is a meaningless place and stories are us attempting to impose structure on the chaos, that's what I go to stories for! I suppose for some people it helps to hear this spelled out, but I'd rather you just get on with making the meaning, thanks.

Yes!!!
I mean, I think Star Trek does this better. But I'm enough of a Trekkie to be happy to see it echoed anywhere. I also thought The Tsuranga Conundrum was a very Star Trek episode, with a true B plot that's not really attached to the A plot and a threat that's a point of scientific interest and a problem to solve but carries no particular emotional or moral weight (not that Star Trek didn't have those kinds of plots, but they do the Pting variety of plot far more often than Who does, or at lest far more often than modern Who does).

[elisi]

I knew this, but seeing it spelled out just makes me want to cry: yes, you will always feel a gnawing emptiness from this era.
:( (Six, here I come!!)

^^^ This is 100% Star Trek. That is the central idea behind Star Trek and the thing that makes it different from all other shows. Opinions do vary as to how effective this is as television, but it makes me happy.
Good. I hope it continues in that vein.

[promethia_tenk]

:( (Six, here I come!!)
It's a big show. We can probably make it last until a new showrunner comes along. And in the meantime, he might get better. Rusty's first season was not impressive.

Good. I hope it continues in that vein.
Gene Roddenberry's idea was that in the future humans will have figured out how to resolve their differences without fighting, so the crew were not allowed to have interpersonal conflicts. Writers have, understandably found this a bit . . . restricting, so more modern versions of Star Trek have found various ways to stretch the concept, but at its heart the idea of Star Trek is that the cast should always band together to deal with whatever comes at them, that every person has a valuable role to play, etc. And then they essentially live in a communist utopia where nobody wants for anything. IDK, some people find this makes for boring television, but I think it does the soul good.

[elisi]

Rusty's first season was not impressive.
Rusty's first season kept me interested. There are still people who prefer Nine to any other Doctor. And it had Doctor/Rose to hook people - it's very hard to go wrong with a well-written ship, where the showrunner calls them 'soul mates'.

but at its heart the idea of Star Trek is that the cast should always band together to deal with whatever comes at them, that every person has a valuable role to play, etc. And then they essentially live in a communist utopia where nobody wants for anything. IDK, some people find this makes for boring television, but I think it does the soul good.
I like the idea I think, just never watched it.