It's been a very long day. I just spent the last seven hours on a video editing project, it's well after midnight, and I need to get to bed. But, because I am stupidly dedicated t this ridiculous project, here I am writing a blog post because I know that you, my imaginary readers, would be sorely disappointed if I didn't.

So let's talk about the sins of the Flesh.

The Rebel Flesh

(TARDIS Data Core recap)

Doctor Who has certainly done stories before about body doubles and clones and such. Sometimes it is androids, as in (obviously) The Android Invasion, sometimes it is aliens disguised as a part of an invasion, as in The Zygon Invasion, and the Doctor himself has been doubled in at least a half-dozen stories so far with my absolute favorite being Enemy of the World.  Today's story, then, doesn't particularly break new ground but it is executed well and poses some interesting questions.

The TARDIS arrives at an island monastery that has been converted into a 22nd century acid factory. Because the work is so dangerous, the five resident employees use Doppelgangers, or "Gangers", to perform the actual tasks. Basically the person straps themselves into a metal frame, and then a new duplicate body is grown for them out of a vat of milky liquid called "the Flesh". Unfortunately, a solar storm causes a huge electrical surge which causes the Flesh to become sentient. Or perhaps it was already sentient in its liquid state, but the Ganger bodies take on a new sentience separate from their controlling humans.

To that point it is a pretty common story -- what constitutes actual sentience? Are these creatures really alive, or do they only think they are alive because they have been infused with the complete memories and personalities of the humans they were grown from? In one way it is very similar to the existential questions raised by the Replicants in Blade Runner. The really interesting part comes when the humans and Gangers face off, and you have (for example) both a human father and his Ganger pining after their daughter. It's one thing to argue for sentience, independence, and self-determination. It is entirely another thing when both the original and duplicate want to go home to the same family.

Also interestingly, Rory and Amy fall down on opposite sides of the morality. Rory absolutely believes the Gangers are legitimately sentient and deserving of personhood. Amy, on the other hand, sees them as no different than machines or tools (and dangerous ones at that). Of course the Doctor tries to play diplomat and negotiate a solution, and of course one of the humans goes and kills one of the Gangers, thus spoiling any chance for peace.

And then, the big shocker at the end, when a Ganger Doctor strides onto the scene all ready to hoist the Doctor upon his own petard.

I like this story a lot. It was written by Matthew Graham, creator of Life on Mars and its sequel series Ashes to Ashes, and he knows his way around a clever and exciting plot. The setting of the monastery is also very nice, contrasting the ancient stone construction with the futuristic technology. It also leads to a fantastic line from the Doctor: "See this weather vane, the cock-a-doodle-do? It's a solar router feeding the whole factory with solar power. When that wave hits, ka-boom. I've to get to that cockerel before all hell breaks loose. (pause) I never thought I'd have to say that again..."

So yeah, a great first half to the story, and only slightly spoiled by the fact that I already know the big reveal that is coming at the end of part two tomorrow.

Speaking of which, tomorrow is already today, so I'd best get to bed now.  G'nite.

STATS:

Doctor(s): Eleventh
Companion(s): Amy Pond, Rory Williams
Episode(s): The Rebel Flesh
Steps Walked: 7,482 today, 3,138,466 total
Distance Walked: 4.00 miles today, 1,638.27 miles total
Push-ups Completed: 100 today, 4,964 total
Sit-ups Completed: 0 today, 929 total
How Many Times has Rory Died?: 4
How Many Times has Amy Died?: 1
Is Anything Cool?: Absolutely nothing is cool in this episode
Weight: 251.12 lbs (five day moving average), net change -56.18 lbs