I loved the scene for all the different layers. Even though it's based on the Belgrano attack, the awfulness of which is for the british left is a bit of a shibboleth, Harriet's given very valid points. We did just see the Sycorax leader go back on his given word in a single instant, and Harriet doesn't invoke fancy abstractions to justify herself, she remembers the two good people she saw brutally murdered that day.

But the Doctor's anger is valid too; he just managed to engineer an ending where only three people died instead of thousands and thousands, and he gave his word and Harriet broke it.

Yet again against that is set how disturbing a Time Lord can be, having the power to know what tiny pebble to drop to cause the avalanche he wants. Harriet has to work with her mortal limitations and inability to see the future. It's never really a fair matchup.

But the Doctor's anger is valid too; he just managed to engineer an ending where only three people died instead of thousands and thousands, and he gave his word and Harriet broke it.

It may say something about Gallifreyan society, that the Doctor expects the same level of chivalrous fair fight from a woman as he expects from himself - human women do not always get taught as from infants to fight fair, to fight cleanly. We often do not get taught to fight at all unless we seek it out (and I'm having a hard time picturing Harriet Jones in a jujitsu class), so when we do fight, we make things up as we go along, anticipating no shame for low blows or biting.

I tell you what, if invaders killed a handfull of people then threatened to kill a third of my clients in the group homes and sell the rest into slavery, and I had a choice between trusting their word that they would simply go away and not bother us again, or shooting 'em in the back? I would feel less shame about shooting them in the back than I would about letting them go. If my choices were letting the marauders go to prison after a fair trial and shooting 'em in the back, why then the story might have a bit different ending.

As I understand it, 'chav' was Gypsy slang for 'child', that became cockney slang for 'child', so before the emergence of chav culture, it was pejorative when applied to an adult. The word is loaded with a heck of a lot of racial and class connotations and when it's thrown around in a derogatory manner is quite queasy-making.

Enjoyed the new Doctor, still miss 9, though.

I agree that it wasn't so much what the Doctor said, as how Harriet reacted to it that got her into a trouble. Which I'm sure was what the Doctor intended.

I agree that it wasn't so much what the Doctor said, as how Harriet reacted to it that got her into a trouble. Which I'm sure was what the Doctor intended.

Yeah, that's a really good point; I hadn't really seen it that way until it was pointed out upthread, but I think that's right.

I think that the DVDs are coming out on January 16th because the series ends late December or early January.

Beverly, didn't your dvr catch the repeat of the episodes? That started immediately after the first showing.

Oh, sure, sumi, with the "logic".

I had it set for the west coast showing. It only records two channels at a time, and we had other stuff in the early time slot.

I have to say, I'm grateful for the cable channels that air shows for eastern and pacific times. Sometimes it's the only way I can work around three adults' recording requirements.

I'll bet it's re-aired at some point. Or I can always wait for the dvds.

I know Tennant's supposed to grow on folks, and I'm patiently waiting. Meanwhile I just want to pinch his head with its manic little rictus grin right off at the neck. I miss Nine.

There are times when Tennant's performance is way over the top, but hang in there at least until School Reunion. The episode itself is worth watching for any Doctor Who fan. It's certainly one of the best of the season, and IMO one of the highlights of the entire show.

ETA: Please tell me I'm not the only one who has trouble remembering to type "School Reunion" instead of "School Hard".

Oh, you know they're going to marathon it at some point.

I have to admit that I watched both "New Earth" and "Tooth and Claw" on you tube.

I don't know if they are still there.

IJS.