Doctor Who: Human Nature Preview
Speculation and spoilers for the May 26 episode of Doctor Who follow!
The BBC blurb says:
It's 1913 in England, and an ordinary schoolteacher called John Smith dreams of adventures in time and space and a mysterious blue box, as Russell T Davies's Doctor Who continues. But, when lights in the sky herald the arrival of something strange and terrible, Smith's maid, Martha, has to convince him that he alone can save the world.
The trailer at the end of 42 seemed to indicate that the Doctor had somehow become convinced he was, well, human. 1913 is just before World War I, and I'm wondering if there's any connection to that - the new series has had plenty going on in connection with World War II, but I don't recall any previous mention of the first one.
Paul Cornell is the writer, and we've seen good things from him in the past. This episode is based on his Doctor Who novel, also called Human Nature. I haven't read it, but I understand that this is an adaptation, rather than a direct conversion to a script. In the book, the Doctor voluntarily becomes human using some sort of purchased device - possibly so as to understand the human point of view on grief. Anyone who's read the book able to confirm that?
I can't see that motive being an active one in this series, though - there hasn't been anything in recent continuity (as in, the last few episodes) for the Doctor - or Martha, for that matter - to grieve over. Neither would that give any explanation as to why Martha is also in that time period as a maid...
I'm looking forward greatly to this episode; it has enough mystery going into it to hold my interest more than any of the rest so far.
Posted by Drew Shiel at May 24, 2007 1:54 PM
I think it was realy good
Posted by: elliott fennell at May 28, 2007 1:57 PM