Doctor Who in 'Proper Science Fiction' shock!

No spoilers

Don't worry, these are robot horses that will shortly turn into Fiat Unos

If you've not been watching the new Doctor Whos, give this one a go - it's the best they've done in a few years. The episode is called 'Demons of the Punjab', and is set up by the classic time-travelling trope of nipping back in time to check up on your relatives. Our heroes get caught up in a moment of history that is not one of Britain's finest while lurking in the (very English-looking) forest there are demons who aren't what they seem.

Okay, so there's been excitement about the Doctor now being female, and disbelief at her being based in Sheffield, but this week's episode was an absolute corker! It was genuine sci-fi!
By that I mean it used a fantastic (as in fantasy, not as in awesome) premise to talk about not only the human condition but also the current political situation while being set 70 years in the past. AND it's appropriate to armistice day! Not bad for an hour-long episode.

Science fiction at it's best is not about spaceships, physically impossible laser weapons, anachronistic cassette players or even beings with pointy ears. Those are just devices to frame a story that puts normal people in a situation they don't expect and sees how they react. Along the way a skilled writer can talk about the treatment of women modern society, or terrorists living amongst us, or the lengths a person might go to to protect their loved ones when the threat is no longer the monsters.

The writer is Vinay Patel, who I'm not familiar with, but his web site has some credits of interest. Given the amount of plot and thought he packed into this episode I'll be taking a closer look at his work. He boils the history down to it's impact on one family and he may simplify it (it's not a bit of history I know much about), the essential dumbness of colonial rule is played out well. Jodie Whittaker is coming into her own now - more care has been taken with her introductory scripts then there was for Peter Capaldi's first season.

And yes, you still get the traditional plot hole of the character not recognising people they met in exceptional circumstances 70 years ago...

This iPlayer link will (probably) only work in the UK.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bs748h