Saturday 8 August 2015

Revisiting the Twelfth Doctor: Kill the Moon

Kill the Moon

Some bizarre plot holes mar what could otherwise be gripping sci-fi. Here's what I remembered:
Need to try not to think too hard about this one. Lots of weird inconsistencies and coincidences. For example, there are large creature living on the moon which are essentially germs, so they can be killed with a spray of anti-bac? Either I or the writers don't understand how anti-bac works, because I'm pretty sure that couldn't happen. Anti-bac spray creates an environment in which germs cannot survive. A large creature with complex anatomy isn't going to be felled like that. Also, it is a bit of a coincidence that a) that character happened to be holding a spray and b) they even thought to use it. And, while I like the idea that the moon is an egg for a space-creature, the idea that the creature leaves behind a brand-new egg, with exactly the same mass,  on the day of its birth is a bit of a stretch. That said, it was a genuinely new and brilliant idea, a great moral choice at the heart of the story and - from what I have written here - has stuck in my mind far more than many other episodes. I think if I can ignore the plot holes, this could be a great story.
What's most interesting about this story is where it occurs. The Doctor has just discovered that Clara has been keeping secret her relationship with a soldier. She has chosen a partner (and if there is one thing The Doctor obsesses over, it is choosing partners) whose approach to problem-solving (as the Doctor sees it) is the antithesis of the the Doctor's. Clara has just been warned by Danny that the Doctor may push her too far.

Lots of spoilers, ahead.



Which brings us to plot-hole #1. The Doctor doesn't appear to know what is happening on the moon before they go there. Which is weird, because rather than just going to the moon, he takes them to a specific year in the future where these things happen. He puts Clara (and humanity) in a position where they have to take responsibility for their own actions, rather than relying on him to bail them out. The whole situation is gear towards re-affirming the Doctor's faith in his companion and making humanity responsible for its own decisions. But it doesn't explain why the Doctor appears genuinely baffled by what is happening on the moon. The 7th Doctor would have been aloof, mysterious. It would have been obvious that he was orchestrating something and Ace's frustration would have reinforced the feeling that the Doctor was manipulating events and her.


Plot-hole #2: the spiders are germs. No, they aren't. Really. I don't want to go into it again, but germs don't grow to that size. There are reasons why organisms develop specialised cells and organs and limbs and musculature and it is all about supporting greater body mass and structural complexity. A bit like my comment for Robot of Sherwood if you're going to write great science fiction you need to have a baseline respect for science. See above for my layman's understanding of why disinfectant cannot be used to kill large complex creatures. The whole thing seems like a retread of the "antibodies" from Into the Dalek, but in that story they made sense. A pity, because the "spiders" are a really nasty creepy monster. For a better take on this, check out "Cobwebs" by Big Finish. It's an audio drama featuring a space station overrun by cobwebs and evil spiders. It is likely a bit of an inspiration to this story.

Once we get into the heart of the story - the difficult choice between saving the unborn creature and saving humanity from uncertainty - the episode improves. Although the dilemma doesn't take up as much of the episode as I remembered.

Plot-hole #3: Humanity's choice. Clara asks the Earth to give a signal for whether the creature should be saved. It's a bit unfair to call it a plot-hole perhaps, but given that the entirety of Doctor Who is about humanity's capability of both great compassion/ingenuity and great selfishness/destruction it seems odd to expect a sudden consensus. Plus presumably the people on the other side of the Earth didn't get a vote. Plus, given the way entire nations blacked out at once, it seems likely each country's government ignored the voice of individual people and simply cut the power. However you look at it, it's bizarre. It's also meant to be a great surprise that humanity chose to be selfish, but to be fair, the moon had been causing terrible ecological disasters and loss of life. You can understand that the survivors of the apocalypse would be twitchy about additional changes.

But Clara's ignores the vox populi and disarms the bomb herself. The Doctor shows up on cue, demonstrating again that the whole thing was a plot, despite not seeming to know anything about what was going on and whisks them away. The moon hatches in to a creature, the rock dissolves, not presenting any immediate threat to the earth.


Plot-hole #4: The newborn lays an egg which is a new moon. I don't have a problem with a newborn laying an egg. Plenty of that in nature. I don't even have a problem, in retrospect with the creature leaving an egg the size of the moon. But it would have to be wafer-thin. Our planet's relationship with the moon is one of mass, not size. Gravity works because of the intensity of mass. Honestly I don't fully understand it, but I know that much . The writer of this story also appears to know that on one level, because the moon-creature gestating to full term has increased the mass of the moon and so its effect on the Earth's tides. But then, minutes later, Clara seems to think that the absence of a moon would lead to "no tides" would "wouldn't be a problem." Again, I think this is poor science fiction and an understatement of the delicate balance of our eco system - something sci-fi should be campaigning to protect, not suggesting we can do what we want on a whim and "we'll manage."

I'd love to like this more. I love "base under siege"  stories; the sets look great, the spiders are creepy and amazing and the whole thing oozes atmosphere - it's just a shame that it doesn't make any sense. But if you squint, there are interesting moral debates provoked here and by the end, whether you agree with the Doctor's actions or Clara's response to him at the end this is a watershed moment in their relationship and travels together.

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