A title reminiscent of Christopher Ecclestone's début Rose but that's pretty much where the similarities end. Once again we go straight to the title, The pre-title sequence is a thing of the past. As much as it can set the scene and whet your appetite, it also means you have to be sat ready to watch straight away. Now this shouldn't be a problem but there are always those times when someone else is running behind and the last thing you want to have to do is explain what they've missed (even if you do have the length of the actual titles to do it). Going straight to the titles acts as a call to arms, a chance for the dog to howl to gather the pack and a signal to anyone who's not quite ready that they need to get their skates on! This time around, those skates would get you in to Montgomery, Alabama in 1943 where a loan woman boarding a bus questions the need to board the bus via the rear door when she's already boarded at the front to pay and there are already people standing in the door well... but she's "coloured" which should be reason enough (at least that was the opinion of many at the time)...
The woman angers the driver more after dropping he handbag by sitting in a "White" seat as she picks it up. She's calmly made her point, and relents, only to have the doors close before she can re-board. Twelve years later and the TARDIS arrives on the Doctor's 14th attempt to get her new friends home and Graham is excited that they might be able to meet Elvis but the Doctor points that that he's in New York this week (cue gag about her lending him a mobile phone!), but more importantly, the TARDIS is picking up traces of artron energy so they need to stick around and investigate
It is at this point that the new multiracial cast has a purpose beyond ticking the 'diversity' box, so it's worth pointing out that Ryan is black, Yaz is South Asian, whilst Graham is white, as is the Doctor and being a woman may have its own impact on visits to history... With that in mind, Ryan's casual act of simple kindness (picking up a woman's dropped glove) suddenly takes on an unexpected risk (the woman in question is white) and a vicious fight is only narrowly avoided when Graham and the Doctor realise what is happening and Yaz's police training kicks in. Witnessing this and stepping forward to ease the tension is none other than the woman seen on the bus, a seamstress who is doing some alterations for the white man who turned violent, and who introduces herself to the Doctor as Mrs Rosa Parks. Everyone but Ryan knows the significance of Mrs Parks, or at least they need to iron out the details for him. More importantly, the Doctor points out that the day that ultimately made her famous, the day she got arrested for refusing to give up a seat for a white passenger thus sparking the whole civil rights movement into action, is tomorrow and whatever is causing the artron energy could be about to put that at risk...
What follows is a cross between "Quantum Leap" and "Timeless" as the TARDIS crew try to figure out where Rosa should be and when and ensure that everything happens as it should. Trying to stop things from happening the way they should is a Krasko, a random racist from the future with a vortex manipulator and temporal displacement gun. He is like a cross between the Meddling Monk (See The Time Meddler, the first historical to go beyond the realms of pure history) and the Master (see any of Roger Delgado stories), set of causing trouble but happy to make a profit in the mean time. He identifies the Police Box as a TARDIS and suggest it could be worth a fair amount. "Nah! Not this one" says the Doctor, "It's second hand, huge mileage, one careless owner!"
The rest is the usual romp with added racist danger. Not only is Ryan in danger of being lynched, but Yaz isn't exactly welcome as a "Mexican" (highlighting the level of ignorance in 1950s America). Along the way, there's a lovely quip about mysterious street/graffiti artist Banksy when the Doctor starts scribbling her ideas on a wall (I'll not spoil it here), and even Graham assumes a pseudonym when in a tight spot.
The circumstances make for some uncomfortable viewing at times, but it's all within the historical truth of the times. It's not just the viewer that is made to feel uncomfortable either because there is only so much the Doctor and her friends can do. This is a delicate moment in history and they aren't there to make changes to human rights, they are there to ensure that Rosa Parks does that all on her own. They can't tell her what to do or what will happen and they can't defend her in the face of racism. All they can do is unravel Krosko's meddling and deal with the man himself. It's an important story to tell and it's done with class and dignity despite the sci-fi fantasy elements. It's also important that Yaz reflects on the racism she faces in the modern world because it's a truth that is still with us, however diminished it may be, there are still individuals and groups that will use race as a target for abuse or reason for persecution. The subject has been touched on before in an historical context (namely Remembrance Of The Daleks where Ace was moved by a Whites Only sign in 1963 England) but Rosa addressed it head on and should be applauded for the way it did, acknowledging how things were, how things are and how things could be (however far in the future Krosko is supposed to be from, there is still an element of racism). It's a long, long battle but where are we along its timeline?
My one concern about the episode has nothing to do with the racism or messing with history. It has nothing to do with the plot or how things unfold. My concern is very basic and old-school. There is a scene where the Doctor faces off against Krosko, standing up to his bullish manner confident that he is unable to hurt her (for reasons explained in the episode). Despite this, he puts his hand to her throat to throttle her. The Doctor appears to be in very direct danger and she shows determination rather than fear. I feel like Mary Whitehouse when I say this, but this is actually a rather terrifying moment for younger viewers and explicitly show hand to throat action, though brief, connects the dots for copy-cat playing and that's not something I like to think of kids doing. I reminded of the scissors scene in The Edge Of Destruction and one or two others along the way that shouldn't have made it to the final cut. Aside from that though, this was a strong historical, the likes of which have not been seen for a while.
No comments:
Post a Comment