Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Beardsley
The Shakespeare Code. There's some slippertalk about the witches using some kind of technology, but most people recognise it for what it is.
|
Mmm, I don't buy it. In many other episodes, things we might conclude was magic was revealed as "sufficiently advanced technology". Even if it's a bit more handwavey than usual, this really isn't an exception. "Sufficiently advanced technology" is one of the major themes of Doctor Who.
Quote:
|
The catwalk does not allow access to the motors - only the tips of the fan blades.
|
I'm thinking more in line of access to the shafts and bearings, than the motors themselves. Stop the fan, set up a stepladder (where's the OHSB when you need 'em), then grease it up.
Why you'd install them parallel to the shaft, near walls, rather than perpendicular, however, still escapes me.
Quote:
|
[Snip the rest.] I do feel you are so eager to like it that you are trying to find depths and rationales that simply aren't there. I don't believe the production team put as much thought into it as you would claim is evident.
|
Retconning entertains me, and I'm generally forgiving of the technical details in any case. Doctor Who isn't hard sci-fi. They don't pretend to be. And I don't see any reason to hold them to that standard.
They're still leaps and bounds over just about anything else on TV.
In any case, the characters and what drive them are what interest me. I'm in it for the wonder and adventure, not the tech.
Quote:
|
It was the same with the Sycarox ship and the button next to the door (the one the Doctor threw a tangerine at). Despite being right next to the door, it actually opened a panel in the floor some distance away, which just happened to allow the Doctor to kill the baddy.
|
Yeah, that was forgivable only for the Doctor's "one chance" comment.
Quote:
|
It's no good coming up with some handwavy explanation two years later. There was no indication that any of the world-crossers could see in advance what they'd encounter when they crossed timelines.
|
Meh. a) Not every technical detail has to be explained right away. Pete knew our Earth was in trouble and sent Mickey to help. There was no real need to explain the "how". If they could teleport to a parallel universe at all, it's reasonable to assume they can perceive events in that universe, if only for targeting purposes. Given that, it's equally reasonable to expect Pete to have been monitoring just as soon as he'd evacuated.
In any case, there's really no reason to handwave at all. If they can do one, they almost have to be able to do the other. Rose's later comment only confirms the capability.
Quote:
|
New Earth. The one that also had that "mix all the drugs up and they'll cure everyone" thing.
|
Ah. Yeah, that was a pretty massive engineering blunder, still, it's not like RTD invented the "big red button that must never be pressed" trope. One can criticize him for using it, but not over-and-above the rest of TVdom.
Quote:
|
Well maybe it was addressed but it didn't convince.
|
Nitpick: it didn't convince
you.
Considering he was planning on sabotaging his own ship and getting his PR-bots to commit the murder of everybody on board, riding out the crash in a crash-proof bunker to fake his own death for insurance purposes was pretty much the least irrational thing he did.
Quote:
|
What, not even the Prime Minister?
|
Yeah, good point. I'd forgotten about Harriet Jones. She'd almost have to have recognized her, wouldn't she?
Quote:
|
And anyway, this was the least of Boom Town's faults.
|
Definitely in the "least of" list. Still, Jack was a lot of fun in that episode.
Quote:
|
In an untold adventure prior to Boom Town, or else in Boom Town itself. It was implied that there were a fair few untelevised adventures, and at least one contemporary spin-off book is referenced in the TV series.
|
Okay, so my observation this morning was correct, Jack probably knew all about "Mickey the Idiot", if not during, then immediately afterwards, but I'm pretty sure they never quite met on camera. I was wracking my brain trying to figure that one out. I'll have to sit down and watch that episode again at some point to be sure.