More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
The Daleks emerge from the Thames, and within a few minutes, even though the Daleks do not recognize the Doctor as The Doctor and thus as their arch-nemesis, they’re terrified of him. As the Doctor is led off to prison, the Dalek neurotically repeats “We are the masters of Earth,” making it sound less like a triumphant Dalek boast than like a small child rocking itself back and forth and trying to convince itself that it will all be OK. Paul Cornell’s great line that the Doctor is what monsters have nightmares about starts here.
Exactly a year on the air, and it’s figured out that if you just have William Hartnell walk around acting like he’s totally confident that he’s got everything under control and like he’s having the time of his life, the rest of the show will click into place behind it.
You watched it whether you liked it or not. (In fact, the steadily climbing AI figures for the program over its classic run are probably less a product of the show getting better and more a product of the fact that the changing nature of television meant people who didn’t like it stopped watching it. Notably, AI figures in general – for all shows – improve over time.)
And this is part of being a Doctor Who fan. You are absolutely guaranteed to see the show die in front of you, and then get replaced with a strange, different show using the same name.
